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GIFT  OF 


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BY  MAX  HEINDEL 


FAUST,  PARSIFAL,  THE  RING  OF  THE 
NIEBELUNG,  TANNHAUSER,  LOHENGRIN. 


FIRST  EDITION 

PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  ROSICRUCIAN  FELLOWSHIP 

International  Headquarters 

Mt.    Ecclesia 
Oceanside,  California 


I^ondon: 

N,  Fowler  &  Co.,  7  Imperial  Arcade 
Ludgate  Circus 


Copyright,  1921 

by 
MRS.  MAX  HEINDEL 


FELLOWSHIP  PRESS 
OCEANSIDE,    CALIF 


Table  of  Contents 

Page 
FAUST 
Chapter  I. 

Divine  Discord 5 

Chapter  II. 

The  Sorrows  of  the  Seeking  Soul 12 

Chapter  III. 

The  Sorrows  of  the  Seeking  Soul  (cont.)  .     19 
Chapter  IV. 

Selling  His  Soul  to  Satan 26 

Chapter  V. 

Selling  His  Soul  to  Satan  (cont.)    33 

Chapter  VI. 

The  Wages  of  Sin  and  the  Ways  of  Salva- 
tion           40 

PARSIFAL 
Chapter  VII. 

Wagner 's  Mystic  Music  Drama 49 

THE  RING  OF  THE  NIEBELUNG 
Chapter  VIII. 

The  Rhine  Maidens 71 

Chapter  IX. 

The  Eing  of  the  Gods 78 

Chapter  X. 

The  Valkuerie  .  85 


482773 


Table  of  Contents,   Continued 

Page 
Chapter  XI. 

Siegfried,  the  Truth  Seeker 93 

Chapter  XII. 

The  Battle  of  Truth  and  Error 101 

Chapter  XIII. 

Rebirth  and  the  Lethal  Drink 109 

Chapter  XIV. 

The  Twilight  of  the  Gods 117 

TANNHAUSER 
Chapter  XV. 

The  Pendulum  of  Joy  and  Sorrow 127 

Chapter  XVI. 

Minstrels,  the  Initiates  of  the  Middle  Ages  135 
Chapter  XVII. 

The  Unpardonable  Sin 142 

Chapter  XVIII. 

The  Rod  that  Budded 149 

LOHENGRIN 
Chapter  XIX. 

The  Knight  of  the  Swan 157 

Index  .  ,   167 


Chapter  I 
DIVINE  DISCOED 

WHEN  the  name  Faust  is  mentioned,  the  major- 
ity of  educated  people  at  once  think  of  Gou- 
nod's presentations  upon  the  stage.  Some  admire  the 
music,  but  the  story  itself  does  not  seem  to  particu- 
larly impress  them.  As  it  appears  there,  it  seems  to 
be  the  unfortunately  all  too  common  story  of  a  sensu- 
alist who  betrays  a  young  unsuspecting  girl  and  then 
leaves  her  to  expiate  her  folly  and  suffer  for  her 
trustfulness.  The  touch  of  magic  and  witchery  which 
enters  into  the  play  is  thought  of  by  most  people  as 
only  the  fancies  of  an  author  who  has  used  them  to 
make  the  sordid,  everyday  conditions  more  interest- 
ing. 

When  Faust  is  taken  by  Mephistopheles  to  the  un- 
derworld and  Marguerite  is  borne  to  heaven  upon 
angelic  wings  at  the  conclusion  of  the  play,  it  appears 
to  them  to  be  just  the  ordinary  moral  to  give  the  story 
a  goody-goody  ending. 


6  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

A  small  minority  know  that  Gounod's  opera  in 
based  upon  the  drama  written  by  Goethe.  And  those 
who  have  studied  the  two  parts  of  his  presentation  of 
Faust,  gain  a  very  different  idea  from  that  presented 
by  the  play.  Only  the  few  who  are  illuminated  mys-' 
tics,  see  in  the  play  written  by  Goethe  the  unmistak- 
able hand  of  an  enlightened  fellow  Initiate,  and  realize 
fully  the  great  cosmic  significance  contained  therein.. 

Be  it  very  clearly  understood  that  the  story  of  Faust 
is  a  myth  as  old  as  mankind,  Goethe  presented  it  clad 
in  a  proper  mystic  light,  illuminating  one  of  the  great- 
est problems  of  the  day,  the  relation  and  struggle  be- 
tween Freemasonry  and  Catholicism,  which  we  have 
considered  from  another  viewpoint  in  a  former  book. 

We  have  often  said  in  our  literature,  that  a  myth  is 
a  veiled  symbol  containing  a  great  cosmic  truth,  a 
conception  which  differs  radically  from  the  generally 
accepted  one.  As  we  give  picture  books  to  our  chil- 
dren to  convey  lessons  beyond  their  intellectual  grasp, 
so  the  great  Teachers  gave  infant  humanity  these  pic- 
torial symbols,  and  thus,  unconsciously  to  mankind, 
an  appreciation  of  the  ideals  presented  has  been  etched 
into  our  finer  vehicles. 

As  a  seed  germinates  unseen  in  the  ground  ere  it 
can  flower  above  the  visible  surface  of  the  earth,  so 
these  etchings  traced  by  the  myths  upon  our  finer,  in- 
visible vestures  have  put  us  into  a  state  of  receptivity 
where  we  readily  take  to  higher  ideals  and  rise  above 
the  sordid  conditions  of  the  material  world.  These 


DIVINE  DISCORD  \ 

ideals  would  have  been  submerged  by  the  lower  na- 
ture, had  it  not  been  prepared  for  ages  by  the  agency 
of  just  such  myths  as  Faust,  Parsifal,  and  kindred 
tales. 

Like  the  story  of  Job  the  scene  of  the  Faust  myth 
has  its  beginning  in  heaven  at  a  convocation  of  the 
Sons  of  Seth,  Lucifer  among  them.  The  ending  is  also 
in  heaven  as  presented  by  Goethe.  As  it  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  is  commonly  presented  upon 
the  stage,  we  stand  face  to  face  with  a  gigantic  prob- 
lem. In  fact,  the  Faust  myth  depicts  the  evolution  of 
mankind  during  the  present  epoch.  It  also  shows  us 
how  the  Sons  of  Seth  and  the  Sons  of  Cain  each  play 
their  part  in  the  work  of  the  world. 

It  has  always  been  the  custom  of  the  writer  to  stick 
as  closely  to  his  subject  as  possible,  so  that  any 
phase  of  the  philosophy  under  consideration  might 
receive  the  full  force  of  concentrated  illumina- 
tion so  far  as  was  possible  to  give  it.  But  sometimes 
circumstances  justify  departure  from  the  main  trend 
of  the  argument,  and  our  consideration  of  the  Faust 
myth  is  one  of  them.  Were  we  to  discourse  upon  this 
subject  only  in  so  far  as  it  has  a  bearing  upon  the 
problem  of  Freemasonry  and  Catholicism,  we  should 
have  to  return  to  the  subject  later,  in  order  to  illu- 
minate other  points  of  vital  interest  in  the  unfold- 
ment  of  soul  as  the  work  of  the  human  race.  "We 
therefore  trust  that  digressions  may  not  be  criticized. 


8  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

In  the  opening  scene,  three  of  the  Sons  of  God, 
Planetary  Spirits,  are  represented  as  bowing  before 
the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Universe,  singing  songs  of 
the  spheres  in  their  adoration  of  the  Ineffable  Being 
who  is  the  source  of  life,  the  author  of  all  manifesta- 
tion. Goethe  represents  one  of  these  supernal  spirits 
of  the  stars  as  saying : 

' '  The  sun  intones  its  ancient  song, 

'Mid  rival  chant  of  brother  spheres, 

Its  predestined  course  it  speeds  along, 

In  thund  'rous  march  throughout  the  years. ' ' 

Modern  scientific  instruments  have  been  invented, 
whereby  in  laboratory  tests  light  waves  are  trans- 
muted to  sound,  thus  demonstrating  in  the  physical 
world  the  mystic  maxim  of  the  identity  of  these  mani- 
festations. That  which  was  patent  formerly  only  to1 
the  mystic  who  was  able  to  raise  his  consciousness  to 
the  Region  of  Concrete  Thought,  is  now  also  sensed 
by  the  scientist.  The  song  of  the  spheres,  first  pub- 
licly mentioned  by  Pythagoras,  is  not  therefore,  to  be 
regarded  as  an  empty  idea  originated  in  the  too  vivid 
imagination  of  poetical  minds  nor  as  the  hallucina- 
tion of  a  demented  brain. 

Goethe  meant  every  word  he  said.  The  stars  have 
each  their  own  keynote,  and  they  travel  about  the  sun 
at  such  varying  rates  of  speed,  that  their  position  now 
cannot  be  duplicated  until  twenty-seven  thousand 
years  have  passed.  Thus  the  harmony  of  the  heavens 


DIVINE  DISCORD  9 

changes  at  every  moment  of  life,  and  as  it  changes,  so 
does  the  world  alter  its  ideas  and  ideals.  The  circle 
dance  of  the  marching  orbs  to  the  tune  of  the  celestial 
symphony  created  by  them  marks  man's  progress 
along  the  path  we  call  evolution. 

But  it  is  a  mistaken  idea  to  think  that  constant  har- 
mony is  pleasing.  Music  thus  expressed  would  be- 
come monotonous;  we  should  weary  of  the  continued 
harmony.  In  fact,  music  would  lose  its  charm  werer 
not  dissonance  interspersed  at  frequent  intervals.  The 
closer  a  composer  can  come  to  discord  without  actually 
entering  it  in  the  score,  the  more  pleasing  will  be  his 
composition  when  given  life  through  musical  instru- 
ments. Similarly  in  the  song  of  the  spheres,  we  could 
never  reach  individuality  and  the  selfhood  towards 
which  all  evolution  trends,  without  the  divine  discord. 

Therefore,  the  Book  of  Job  designates  Satan  as  be- 
ing one  of  the  Sons  of  God.  And  the  Faust  myth 
speaks  of  Lucifer  as  also  present  in  the  convocation, 
which  takes  place  during  the  opening  chapter  of  the 
story.  From  him  comes  the  saving  note  of  dissonance 
which  forms  a  contrast  to  the  celestial  harmony;  and 
as  the  brightest  light  throws  the  deepest  shadow, 
Lucifer's  voice  enhances  the  beauty  of  the  celestial 
song. 

While  the  other  Planetary  Spirits  bow  down  in 
adoration  when  they  contemplate  the  works  of  the 
Master  Architect  as  revealed  in  the  universe,  Lucifer 
sounds  the  note  of  criticism,  of  blame,  in  the  follow- 


10  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

ing  words  directed  against  the  masterpiece  of  God,  the 
king  of  creatures,  man: 

* '  Of  suns  and  worlds  I  nothing  have  to  say, 
I  see  alone  man 's  self-inflicted  pains ; 
That  little  world  god  still  his  stamp  retains, 
As  wondrous  now  as  on  the  primal  day. 
Better  he  might  have  fared,  poor  wight, 
Had  You  withheld  the  heavenly  light; 
Eeason  he  names  it,  but  doth  use  it  so, 
That  he  more  brutish  than  brutes  doth  grow." 

This  from  the  viewpoint  of  former  generations  may 
sound  sacrilegious,  but  in  the  greater  light  of  modern 
times  we  can  understand  that  even  in  so  exalted  a  be- 
ing as  that  designated  by  the  name  of  God,  there  must 
be  growth.  We  can  sense  the  striving  after  still  greater 
abilities,  the  contemplation  of  future  universes  offering 
improved  facilities  for  those  evolutions  of  other  vir- 
gin spirits,  which  are  a  result  of  imperfections  noted 
in  the  scheme  of  manifestation  by  its  exalted  Author. 
Furthermore,  as  ' '  in  Him  we  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being,"  so  the  discordant  note  sounded  by  the 
Lucifer  spirits  would  also  rise  within  Him.  It  would 
not  be  an  outside  agency  which  called  attention  to 
mistakes  or  took  Him  to  task,  but  His  own  divine 
recognition  of  an  imperfection  to  be  transmuted  into 
greater  good. 

In  the  Bible  we  read  that  Job  was  a  perfect  man, 
and  in  the  Faust  myth  the  bearer  of  the  title  role  is 


DIVINE  DISCORD  11 

designated  a  servant  of  God,  for  naturally  the  prob- 
lem of  unfoldment,  of  greater  growth,  must  be  solved 
by  the  most  highly  advanced.  Ordinary  individuals,  or 
those  who  are  lower  in  the  scale  of  evolution,  have  still 
that  part  of  the  road  to  travel  \\  hich  has  already  been 
covered  by  such  as  Faust  and  Job,  who  are  the  van- 
guard of  the  race,  and  who  are  looked  upon  by  ordi- 
nary humanity  in  the  same  way  that  Lucifer  describes 
them,  namely  as  fools  and  freaks : 

' '  Poor  fool,  his  food  and  drink  are  not  of  earth, 

An  inward  impulse  hurries  him  afar ; 

Himself,  half  conscious  of  his  frenzied  mood ; 

From  heaven  claimeth  he  the  fairest  star, 

And  from  the  earth  he  craves  the  highest,  best ; 

And  all  that's  near  and  all  that's  far, 

Can  nsver  still  the  cravings  of  his  breast. ' ' 

For  such  people  a  new   and  higher   path  must  be 

opened  to  give  them  greater  opportunities  for  growth ; 

hence  the  answer  of  God : 

"  Though  in  perplexity  he  serves  me  now, 
I  soon  will  lead  him  where  the  light  appears ; 
When  buds  the  sapling  doth  the  gardener  know, 
That  flow'r  and  fruit  shall  grace  its  coming  years." 


12 


Chapter  II 
THE  SORROWS  OF  THE  SEEKING  SOUL 

AS  EXERCISE  is  necessary  to  the  development  of 
physical  muscle,  so  development  of  the  moral 
nature  is  accomplished  through  temptation.  The  soul 
being  given  choice,  may  exercise  it  in  whatever  direc- 
tion it  chooses,  for  it  learns  just  as  well  by  its  mis- 
takes as  by  right  action  in  the  first  place,  perhaps 
even  better.  Therefore,  in  the  Job  myth,  the  devil  is 
permitted  to  tempt ;  and  in  the  Faust  myth  he  makes 
the  request: 

4 '  My  Lord,  if  I  may  lead  him  as  I  choose, 
I  wager  Thou  him  yet  wilt  lose. ' ' 
To  this  the  Lord  replies  : 

'Tis  granted  thee!  Divert 

This  spirit  from  its  primal  source, 

Him  may'st  thou  seize,  thy  power  exert, 

If  he  will  go  the  downward  course. 

But  stand  ashamed  when  thou  art  forced  to  own, 

A  good  man  in  his  darkest  aberration 

Still  knows  the  path  that  leadeth  to  salvation. 

Go,  thou  art  free  to  act  without  control. 

I  do  not  cherish  hate  for  such  as  thee ; 


THE  SORROWS  OF  THE  SEEKING  SOUL  13 

Of  all  the  spirits  of  negation 

The  cynic  is  least  wearisome  to  Me. 

Man  is  too  prone,  activity  to  shirk, 

And  undisturbed  in  rest  he  fain  would  live ; 

Hence  this  companion  purposely  I  give 

Who  stirs,  excites,  and  must  as  devil  work. 

But  ye,  O  faithful  Sons  of  God,  none  wronging, 

Rejoice  in  all  of  everliving  beauty, 

The  everliving,  evergrowing,  and  becoming ; 

Now  gird  yourselves  about  with  love  and  duty. ' ' 

Thus  the  plot  is  ready  and  Faust  is  about  to  become 
enmeshed  in  the  snares  which  beset  the  path  of  every 
seeking  soul.  The  following  lines  show  the  beneficent 
purpose  and  the  necessity  of  temptation.  The  spirit 
is  an  integral  part  of  God;  primarily  innocent,  but 
lire  virtuous.  Virtue  is  a  positive  quality  developed 
by  taking  a  firm  stand  for  the  right  in  temptation,  or 
by  the  suffering  endured  in  consequence  of  wrongdo- 
ing. Thus  the  prologue  in  heaven  gives  to  the  Faust 
myth  its  highest  value  as  a  guide,  and  its  encourage- 
ment to  the  seeking  soul.  It  shows  the  eternal  purpose 
behind  the  earthly  conditions  which  cause  pain  and 
sorrow. 

Goethe  next  introduces  us  to  Faust  himself,  who 
is  standing  in  his  darkened  study.  He  is  engaged  in 
introspection  and  retrospection: 

"I  have,  alas!  philosophy,  medicine,  and  law, 
Theology  I  too  have  studied,  pshaw ! 


14  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Now  here  I  stand  with  all  my  lore, 

A  fool  no  wiser  than  before. 

I  thought  to  better  humankind, 

To  elevate  the  human  mind; 

I  have  not  worked  for  goods  nor  treasure, 

Nor  worldly  honor,  rank,  nor  pleasure. 

With  books  I  all  my  life  have  striven, 

But  now  to  magic  I  am  given; 

And  hope  through  spirit  voice  and  might, 

Secrets  veiled  to  bring  to  light. 

That  I  no  more  with  aching  brow, 

Need  speak  of  what  I  nothing  know. 

Woe 's  me !  Still  prisoned  in  the  gloom 

Of  this  abhorred  and  musty  room, 

Where  heaven's  dear  light  itself  doth  past 

But  dimly  through  the  painted  glass. 

Up !  forth  into  the  distant  land. 

Is  not  this  book  of  mystery 

By  Nostradamus'  magic  hand, 

An  all  sufficient  guide  ?    Thou  'It  see 

The  courses  of  the  stars  unrolled, 

When  Nature  doth  her  thoughts  unfold 

To  thee.    Thy  soul  shall  rise  and  seek 

Communion  high  with  her  to  hold. ' ' 

A  lifetime  of  study  has  brought  Faust  no  real 
knowledge.  The  conventional  sources  of  learning  prove 
barren  in  the  end.  The  scientist  may  think  God  a 


SORROWS  OF  THE  SEEKING  SOUL  15 

superfluity ;  he  may  believe  that  life  consists  in  chemi- 
cal action  and  reaction — that  is,  when  he  starts.  But 
the  deeper  he  delves  into  matter,  the  greater  the  mys- 
teries that  beset  his  path,  and  at  last  he  will  be  forced 
to  abandon  further  research  or  believe  in  God  as  a 
Spirit  whose  life  invests  every  atom  of  matter.  Faust 
has  come  to  that  point.  He  says  that  he  has  not  worked 
for  gold  "nor  treasure,  nor  worldly  honor,  rank,  nor 
pleasure."  He  has  striven  from  love  of  research  and 
has  come  to  the  point  where  he  sees  that  a  spirit  world 
is  about  us  all;  and  through  this  world,  through 
magic,  he  now  aspires  to  a  higher,  more  real  knowl- 
edge than  that  contained  in  books. 

A  tome,  written  by  the  famous  Nostradamus  is  in 
his  hand,  and  on  opening  it  he  beholds  the  sign  of  the 
macrocosm.  The  power  contained  therein  opens  to  his 
consciousness  a  part  of  the  world  he  is  seeking,  and  in 
an  ecstasy  of  joy  he  exclaims : 

' '  Ah !  at  this  spectacle  through  every  sense, 

What  sudden  ecstasy  of  joy  is  flowing; 

I  feel  new  rapture,  hallowed  and  intense. 

Now  of  the  wise  man 's  words  I  learn  the  sense : 

Unlocked  the  spirit  world  is  lying, 

Thy  senses  shut,  thy  heart  is  dead; 

Up,  scholar !  lave  with  zeal  undying 

Thine  earthly  breast  in  morning  red. 

How  all  that  lives  and  works  is  ever  blending, 

Weaves  one  vast  whole  from  Being 's  ample  range, 

See  powers  celestial  rising  and  descending, 


16  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Their  golden  buckets'  ceaseless  interchange. 
Their  flight  on  rapture  breathing  pinions  winging, 
From  heaven  to  earth  the  rhythm  bringing. ' ' 

But  again  the  pendulum  swings  back.  As  an  at- 
tempt to  gaze  directly  into  the  brilliant  light  of  the 
sun  would  result  in  shattering  the  retina  of  the  eye, 
so  the  audacious  attempt  to  fatnom  the  Infinite  re- 
sults in  failure  and  the  seeking  soul  is  thrown  from 
the  ecstasy  of  joy  into  the  darkness  of  despair : 

'  *  A  wondrous  show,  but  ah !  a  show  alone. 
Where  shall  I  grasp  thee,  infinite  nature,  where ! 
Ye  breasts,  ye  fountains  of  all  life  whereon 
Hang  heaven  and  earth,  from  which  the  withered 

heart 

For  solace  yearns.    Ye  still  impart 
Your  sweet  and  fostering  tides;  where  are  ye — • 

where  ? 
Ye  gush,  and  I  must  languish  in  despair." 

We  must  first  understand  the  lower  before  we  can 
successfully  aspire  to  a  higher  knowledge.  To  rant 
and  rave  of  worlds  beyond,  of  finer  bodies,  when  we 
have  little  conception  of  the  vehicles  with  which  we 
work  every  day  and  the  environment  in  which  we  move, 
is  the  height  of  folly.  "Man,  know  thyself"  is  a 
sound  teaching.  The  only  safety  lies  in  climbing  the 
ladder  rung  by  rung,  never  attempting  a  new  step 


SORROWS  OF  THE  SEEKING  SOUL  17 

until  we  have  made  ourselves  secure,  until  we  are 
poised  and  balanced  upon  the  one  where  we  stand. 
Many  a  soul  can  echo  from  its  own  experience  the 
despair  embodied  in  the  words  of  Faust; 

Foolishly  he  has  started  at  the  highest  point.  He 
has  suffered  disappointment,  but  does  not  yet  under- 
stand that  he  must  begin  at  the  bottom;  so  he  com- 
mences an  evocation  of  the  Earth  Spirit : 

' '  Earth  Spirit,  Thou  to  me  art  nigher, 
E  'en  now  my  strength  is  rising  higher, 
Courage  I  feel,  abroad  the  world  to  dare, 
The  woe  of  earth,  the  bliss  of  earth,  to  bear ; 
With  storms  to  wrestle,  brave  the  lightning  glare, 
And  'mid  the  crashing  shipwreck  not  despair. 
Clouds  gather  o  'er  me,  obscure  the  moon 's  light, 
The  lamp's  flame  is  quenched  with  darkness   of 

night. 

Vapors  are  rising,  flashing  and  red, 
Beams  of  them  dartingly,  piercing  my  head; 
I  am  seized  with  a  sickening,  shuddering  dread. 
Spirit,  prayer-compelled,  'tis  Thou 
Art  hovering  near,  unveil  Thyself  now. 
My  heart  I  gladly  surrender  to  Thee; 
Thou  must  appear,  if  life  be  free." 

As  we  have  said  in  The  Rosicrucian  Cosmo-Concep- 
tion, and  as  we  have  further  elucidated  in  the  Rosi- 
crucian philosophy  relative  to  a  question  concerning 

2 


18  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

the  Latin  ritual  in  the  Catholic  Church,  a  name  is  a 
sound  Properly  uttered,  no  matter  by  whom,  it  has 
a  compelling  influence  over  the  intelligence  it  repre- 
sents, and  the  word  given  in  each  degree  of  Initiation 
gives  man  access  to  a  particular  sphere  of  vibration, 
peopled  by  certain  classes  of  spirits.  Therefore,  as  a 
tuning  fork  responds  to  a  note  of  even  pitch,  so  when 
Faust  sounds  the  name  of  the  Earth  Spirit,  it  opens 
his  consciousness  to  that  all  pervading  presence.  . 

And  be  it  remembered  that  Faust's  experience  is 
not  an  isolated  instance  of  what  may  happen  under 
abnormal  conditions.  He  is  a  symbol  of  the  seeking 
soul.  You  and  I  are  Fausts  in  a  certain  sense,  for  at 
some  stage  in  our  evolution  we  shall  meet  the  Earth 
Spirit  and  realize  the  power  of  His  name,  properly 
uttered. 


19 


Chapter  III 
THE  SORROW  OF  THE  SEEKING  SOUL  (Cont.) 


IN  The  Star  of  Bethlehem,  a  Mystic  Fact,  we  en- 
deavored to  give  students  a  glimpse  of  a  certain 
phase  of  Initiation.  Most  of  us  walk  about  upon 
earth  and  see  only  a  seemingly  dead  mass,  but  one  of 
the  first  facts  revealed  in  our  consciousness  by  Initia- 
tion is  the  living  reality  of  the  Earth  Spirit.  As  the 
surface  of  our  body  is  dead  compared  to  the  organs 
within,  so  the  outer  envelope  of  the  earth,  being  en 
crusted,  gives  no  idea  of  the  wonderful  activity  with 
in.  Upon  the  path  of  Initiation  nine  different  layers 
are  revealed,  and  in  the  center  of  this  rolling  sphere 
we  meet  the  Spirit  of  the  earth  face  to  face.  It  is 
actually  true  that  it  is  " groaning  and  travailing"  in 
the  earth  for  the  sake  of  all,  working  and  anxiously 
waiting  for  our  manifestation  as  Sons  of  God  so  that, 
as  the  seeking  soul  which  aspires  to  liberation  is  re- 
leased from  its  dense  body,  the  Earth  Spirit  also  may 
be  liberated  from  its  body  of  death  in  which  it  is  now 
confined  for  us. 


20  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

The  words  of  the  Earth  Spirit  to  Faust,  as  given 
by  Goethe,  offer  splendid  material  for  meditation, 
for  they  represent  mystically  what  the  candidate  feels 
when  he  first  realizes  the  actual  reality  of  the  Earth 
Spirit  as  a  living  presence,  ever  actively  laboring  for 
our  uplift. 

1  'In  the  currents  of  life,  in  the  action  of  storm 

I  float  and  wave  with  billowy  motion ; 

Birth  and  the  grave,  a  limitless  ocean ; 

A  constant  weaving,  with  change  still  rife, 

A  restless  heaving,  a  glowing  life, 

Time's  whizzing  loom  I've  unceasingly  trod; 

Thus  weave  I  the  living  garment  of  God." 

Of  course,  the  Earth  Spirit  is  not  to  be  thought  of 
as  a  larger  man,  or  as  having  physical  form  other  than 
the  earth  itself.  The  vital  body  of  Jesus,  in  which  the 
Christ  Spirit  was  focused  prior  to  its  actual  ingress 
into  the  earth,  has  the  ordinary  human  form;  it  is 
preserved  and  is  shown  to  the  candidate  at  a  certain 
point  in  his  progression.  Some  day  in  the  far  future 
it  will  again  house  the  benevolent  Christ  Spirit  upon 
His  return  from  the  center  of  the  earth,  when  we  shall 
have  become  etheric,  and  when  He  is  ready  to  ascend 
to  higher  spheres,  leaving  us  to  be  taught  of  the 
Father,  whose  religion  will  be  higher  than  the  Chris- 
tian religion. 


THE  SORROWS  OF  THE  SEEKING  SOUL  21 

The  esoteric  truth  that  when  a  spirit  enters  by  a 
certain  door,  it  must  also  return  the  same  way,  is 
taught  by  Goethe  in  connection  with  the  initial  ap- 
pearance of  Mephistopheles  to  Faust.  Faust  is  not 
upon  the  regular  path  of  Initiation.  He  has  not  earned 
admission  nor  the  help  of  the  Elder  Brothers;  he  is 
seeking  at  the  wrong  door  because  of  his  impatience. 
Therefore  he  is  spurned  by  the  Earth  Spirit  and  when 
having  seemingly  attained,  is  plunged  from  the  pin- 
nacle of  joy  to  the  pit  of  despair  where  he  realizes 
that  he  has  in  reality  failed. 

"I,  God's  own  image,  from  this  toil  of  clay 

Already  free,  who  hailed 

The  mirror  of  eternal  truth  unveiled, 

'Mid  light  effulgent  and  celestial  day, 

I,  whose  unfettered  soul 

With  penetrative  glance  aspired  to  flow 

Through  nature 's  veins,  and  still  creating  know 

The  life  of  gods    .    .    .  how  am  I  punished  now, 

One  thunder  word  has  hurled  me  from  the  goal ! 

Spirit,  I  dare  not  lift  me  to  thy  sphere ; 

What  though  my  power  compelled  thee  to  Appear, 

My  art  was  futile  to  detain  thee  here. 

Fiercely    didst    thrust    me  from   the    realm   of 

thought, 

Back  on  humanity 's  uncertain  fate ! 
Who  11  teach  me  now  1  What  ought  I  to  forego  ? 


22  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

He  thinks  the  sources  of  information  are  exhausted 
and  that  he  may  never  attain  to  the  real  knowledge. 
And  fearing  the  dull  monotony  of  a  plodding,  ordi- 
nary existence,  he  grasps  a  phial  of  poison  and  is 
about  to  drink,  when  songs  without,  proclaim  the 
risen  Christ  for  it  is  Easter  morning.  At  the  thought, 
new  hope  stirs  his  soul.  He  is  also  further  disturbed 
in  his  purpose  by  the  knocking  of  Wagner,  his  friend. 

Walking  with  the  latter,  Faust  voices  the  cry  of 
agony  wrung  from  every  aspiring  soul  in  the  awful 
struggle  between  the  higher  and  lower  natures.  So 
long  as  we  live  worldly  lives  without  higher  aspira- 
tions, there  is  peace  in  our  breasts.  But  once  we  have 
sensed  the  call  of  the  Spirit,  our  equipoise  is  gone,  and 
the  more  ardently  we  pursue  the  quest  of  the  Grail, 
the  fiercer  is  this  inner  struggle.  Paul  thought  of 
himself  as  a  wretched  man  because  lower  desires  in 
the  flesh  combated  the  higher  spiritual  aspirations. 
Faust's  words  are  of  similar  import: 

1  *  Two  souls,  alaa,  are  housed  within  my  breast, 
And  struggle  there  for  undivided  reign; 
One  to  the  earth  with  passionate  desire 
And  closely  clinging  organs  still  adheres, 
Above  the  mists  the  other  does  aspire 
With  sacred  ardor  unto  purer  spheres. " 

But  he  does  not  realize  that  there  is  no  royal  road 
to  attainment,  that  each  one  must  walk  the  path  to 


SORROWS  OF  THE  SEEEKING  SOUL  23 

peace  alone.  He  thinks  that  spirits  can  give  him 
soul  power  ready  for  use : 

' '  Oh,  are  there  spirits  in  the  air, 

Who  float  'twixt  heaven  and  earth  dominion  wield- 
ing? 

Stoop  hither  from  your  golden  atmosphere ; 

Lead  me  to  scenes,  new  life  and  fuller  yielding. 

A  magic  mantle  did  I  but  possess, 

Abroad  to  waft  me  as  on  viewless  wings, 

I'd  prize  it  far  beyond  most  costly  dress, 

Nor  change  it  for  the  robe  of  kings. ' ' 

Because  of  this  looking  to  others  he  is  doomed  to 
disappointment.  ' '  If  thou  art  Christ  help  thyself, ' '  is 
the  universal  rule,  and  self-reliance  is  the  cardinal 
virtue  which  aspirants  are  required  to  cultivate  in  the 
Western  Mystery  School.  No  one  is  allowed  to  lean 
on  Masters,  nor  to  blindly  follow  Leaders.  The  Broth- 
ers of  the  Rose  Cross  aim  to  emancipate  the  souls  that 
come  to  them ;  to  educate,  to  strengthen,  and  to  make 
them  coworkers.  Philanthropists  do  not  grow  on  every 
bush,  and  whoever  looks  to  a  teacher  to  do  more  than 
point  the  way,  will  meet  disappointment.  No  matter 
what  their  claims,  no  matter  whether  they  come  in 
the  flesh,  or  as  spirits,  no  matter  how  spiritual  they 
seem,  teachers  positively  cannot  do  for  us  the  good 
deeds  requisite  to  soul  growth,  assimilate  them,  nor 
give  us  the  resulting  soul  power  ready  to  use,  any 
more  than  they  can  impart  to  us  physical  strength  by 


24  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

eating  our  food.  True,  Faust  the  seeking  soul,  at- 
tracts a  spirit  ready  to  serve  him,  but  it  is  a  spirit  of 
an  undesirable  nature,  Lucifer.  When  Faust  asks 
his  name,  he  replies : 

1 l  The  Spirit  of  Negation ;  the  power  that  still 
Works  for  good  though  scheming  ill." 

People  or  spirits  who  offer  to  gratify  our  desires 
usually  have  an  end  in  view. 

Now  we  come  to  a  point  involving  an  important 
cosmic  law  which  underlies  various  spiritualistic  phen- 
omena and  also  supports  the  unique  teaching  of  the 
Kosicrucian  Fellowship  (and  the  Bible),  that  Christ 
will  not  return  in  a  dense  body  but  in  a  vital  body.  It 
also  shows  why  He  must  return.  Students  will  there- 
fore do  well  to  read  very  carefully : 

Attracted  by  the  mental  attitude  of  Faust,  Lucifer 
follows  him  into  his  study.  On  the  floor  just  inside 
the  door  is  a  five  pointed  star  with  the  two  horns 
nearest  the  door/  In  the  ordinary  process  of  nature 
the  human  spirit  enters  its  dense  body  during  ante- 
natal life  and  withdraws  at  death  by  way  of  the  head. 
Invisible  Helpers  who  have  learned  to  transmute  their 
sex  force  to  soul  power  in  the  pituitary  body,  also 
leave  and  enter  the  dense  body  by  way  of  the  head ; 
therefore,  the  pentagram  with  one  point  upward,  sym- 
bolizes the  aspiring  soul  who  works  in  harmony  with 
nature. 

The  black  magician,  who  has  neither  soul  nor  soul 


SORROWS  OF  THE  SEEEKING  SOUL  25 

power,  also  uses  the  sex  force.  He  leaves  and  enters 
his  body  by  way  of  the  feet,  the  silver  cord  protrud- 
ing from  the  sex  organ.  Therefore,  the  pentagram 
with  two  points  upward  is  the  symbol  of  black  magic. 
Lucifer  had  no  trouble  in  entering  Faust's  study,  but 
when  he  wishes  to  leave  after  speaking  with  Faust,  the 
single  point  bars  his  way.  He  requests  Faust  to  re- 
move the  sign  and  the  latter  queries : 

Faust :  The  pentagram  your  peace  does  mar, 
To  me  you,  son  of  hell,  make  clear, 
How  entered  you,  if  this  your  exit  bar? 
Where  is  the  snare, 
Why  through  the  window  not  withdraw? 

Lucifer :     For  ghosts,  devils,  'tis  a  law, 

Where  we  stole  in,  there  we  must  forth ; 

we're  free 
The  first  to  choose,  but  to  the  second,  slaves 

are  we. 

Before  A.  D.  33  Jehovah  guided  our  planet  in  its 
orbit  and  mankind  on  the  path  of  evolution  from 
without.  On  Golgotha,  Christ  entered  the  earth  which 
He  now  guides  from  within ,  and  will  until  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  our  humanity  have  evolved  the  soul 
power  necessary  to  float  the  earth  and  guide  our 
younger  brothers.  This  requires  ability  to  live  in  vital 
bodies,  capable  of  levitation.  The  vital  body  of  Jesus 
through  which  Christ  entered  the  earth  is  His  only 
avenue  of  return  to  the  sun.  Hence  the  Second  Ad- 
vent will  be  in  Jesus'  vital  body. 


26 


Chapter  IV 

• 

SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN 

THE  FAUST  myth  presents  a  curious  situation  in 
the  meeting  of  the  hero,  who  is  the  seeking  soul, 
with  different  classes  of  spirits.  The  spirit  of  Faust, 
inherently  good,  feels  drawn  to  the  higher  orders;  it 
feels  akin  to  the  benevolent  Earth  Spirit,  and  bemoans 
the  inability  to  detain  it  and  learn  from  it.  Face  to 
face  with  the  Spirit  of  Negation,  who  is  only  too  will- 
ing to  teach  and  to  serve,  he  finds  himself  master  in  a 
certain  sense,  because  that  spirit  cannot  leave,  over 
the  symbol  of  the  five  pointed  star  in  the  position  it 
is  placed  upon  the  floor.  But  both  his  inability  to 
detain  the  Earth  Spirit  and  obtain  tuition  from  that 
exalted  Being,  and  his  mastery  over  the  Spirit  of 
Negation,  are  due  to  the  fact  that  he  has  come  into 
contact  with  them  by  chance  and  not  by  soul  power 
evolved  from  within. 

When  Parsifal,  the  hero  of  another  of  these  great 
soul  myths,  first  visited  the  Castle  of  the  Grail,  he 
was  asked  how  he  had  come  there,  and  he  answered 
"I  know  not."  He  just  happened  to  enter  the  holy 


SORROWS  OF  THE  SEEEKING  SOUL  27 

place  as  a  soul  sometimes  gets  a  glimpse  of  the  celes- 
tial realms  in  a  vision ;  but  he  could  not  stay  in  Mount 
Salvat.  He  was  forced  to  go  out  into  the  world  again 
and  learn  his  lessons.  Many  years  later  he  returned 
to  the  Castle  of  the  Grail,  weary  and  worn  with  the 
quest,  and  the  same  query  again  was  asked:  "How 
did  you  come  here?"  But  this  time  his  answer  was 
different,  for  he  said, ' '  Through  search  and  suffering 
I  came." 

That  is  the  cardinal  point  which  marks  the  great 
difference  between  persons  who  happen  to  come 
in  contact  with  spirits  from  superphysical  realms  by 
chance  or  stumble  upon  the  solution  of  a  law  of  na- 
ture, and  those,  who  by  diligent  research  and  particu- 
larly by  living  the  life,  attain  to  conscious  Initiation 
into  the  secrets  of  nature.  The  former  do  not  know 
how  to  use  this  power  intelligently  and  are  therefore 
helpless.  The  latter  are  always  masters  of  the  force* 
they  wield,  while  the  others  are  the  sport  of  anyone 
who  wishes  to  take  advantage  of  them. 

Faust  is  the  symbol  of  man,  'and  humanity  was  first 
led  by  the  Lucifer  spirits  and  the  angels  of  Jehovah 
We  are  now  looking  to  the  Christ  Spirit  within  the 
earth  as  the  Saviour  to  emancipate  us  from  their  sel- 
fish and  negative  influence. 

Paul  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  further  evolution  de- 
signed for  us,  when  he  says,  that  after  Christ  has  es^ 
tablished  the  kingdom,  He  will  turn  it  over  to  the 
Father,  who  will  then  be  all  in  all. 


28  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Faust,  however,  first  seeks  communication  with  the 
macrocosm,  who  is  the  Father.  Like  the  heavenly 
centaur,  Sagittarius,  he  aims  his  bow  at  the  highest 
stars.  He  is  not  satisfied  to  begin  at  the  bottom  and 
work  his  way  up  gradually.  When  spurned  by  that 
sublime  Being,  he  comes  down  one  step  in  the  scale 
and  seeks  communion  with  the  Earth  Spirit  who  also 
scorns  him,  for  he  cannot  become  the  pupil  of  the 
good  forces  until  he  has  conformed  to  their  rules,  so 
that  he  may  enter  the  path  of  Initiation  by  the  true 
door.  Therefore,  when  he  finds  that  the  pentagram 
at  the  door  holds  the  evil  spirit,  he  sees  a  chance  to 
drive  a  bargain.  He  is  ready  to  sell  his  soul  to  Satan. 

As  said  before,  however,  he  is  too  ignorant  to  suc- 
cessfully retain  the  mastery,  and  spirit  power  quickly 
clears  away  the  obstructions  and  leaves  Lucifer  free. 
But  though  he  departs  from  the  chamber  of  Faust,  he 
soon  returns  ready  to  barter  for  the  seeking  soul.  He 
paints  before  Faust 's  eyes  glowing  pictures  of  Kow  he 
may  live  his  life  over,  how  he  may  gratify  his  pas- 
sions and  desires.  Faust,  knowing  that  Lucifer  is  not 
disinterested,  inquires  what  compensation  he  re- 
quires. To  this,  Lucifer  answers: 

"I  pledge  myself  to  be  thy  servant  here, 
At  every  beck  and  call  alert  to  be ; 
But  when  we  meet  in  yonder  sphere, 
Then  shalt  thou  do  the  same  for  me. ' ' 


SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN  .29 

Faust  himself,  adds  a  seemingly  singular  condition, 
regarding  the  time  when  the  service  of  Lucifer  shall 
terminate  and  his  own  earth  life  come  to  an  end. 

Strange  as  it  seems,  we  have  in  the  agreement  of 
Lucifer  and  the  clause  proposed  by  Faust  basic  laws 
of  evolution.  By  the  law  of  attraction  we  are  drawn 
into  contact  with  kindred  spirits  both  here  and  here- 
after. If  we  serve  the  good  forces  here  and  labor  to 
lift  ourselves,  we  find  similarly  minded  company  in 
this  world  and  in  the  next,  but  if  we  love  darkness 
rather  than  light,  we  find  ourselves  associated  with 
the  underworld  here  and  hereafter  also.  There  is  no 
escape  from  this. 

Furthermore,  we  are  all  " temple  builders"  work- 
ing under  the  direction  of  God  and  His  ministers,  the 
divine  Hierarchies.  If  we  shirk  the  task  set  us  in 
life,  we  are  placed  under  conditions  which  will  force 
us  to  learn.  There  is  no  rest  nor  peace  upon  the  path 
of  evolution  and  if  we  seek  pleasure  and  joy  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  work  of  life,  the  death  knell  soon  comes. 
If  ever  we  come  to  a  point  where  we  are  ready  to  bid 
the  passing  hour  stay,  where  we  are  so  contented  with 
conditions  that  we  cease  our  efforts  to  progress,  our 
existence  is  quickly  terminated.  It  is  a  matter  of 
observation,  that  people  who  retire  from  business  to 
live  only  for  the  enjoyment  of  that  which  they  have 
accumulated,  soon  pass  out;  while  the  man  who 
changes  his  vocation  for  an  avocation  generally  lives 
longer.  Nothing  is  so  apt  to  end  an  existence  as  in- 


30  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

activity.  Therefore,  as  has  been  said,  the  laws  of 
nature  are  enunciated  in  the  bargain  of  Lucifer  and 
the  condition  added  by  Faust : 

"If  e'er  I  be  content  in  sloth  or  leisure, 

Then  be  that  hour  the  last  I  see. 

When  thou  with  flattery  canst  cajole  me 

Till  self -complaisant  I  shall  be; 

When  thou  with  pleasure  canst  befool  me. 

Be  that  the  final  day  for  me. 

Whenever  to  the  passing  hour 

I  say,  '  Oh  stay,  thou  art  so  fair ! ' 

Then  unto  thee  I  give  the  power 

To  drag  me  down  to  deep  despair. 

Then  let  my  knell  no  longer  linger, 

Then  from  my  service  thou  art  free  ,r 

Fall  from  the  clock  the  index  finger. 

Be  time  all  over  then  for  me." 

Lucifer  requests  Faust  to  sign  with  a  drop  of 
blood.  And  when  asked  the  reason,  he  says  cunningly, 
"Blood  is  a  most  peculiar  essence."  The  Bible  says  it 
is  the  seat  of  the  soul. 

When  the  earth  was  in  process  of  condensation  the 
invisible  aura  surrounding  Mars,  Mercury  and  \renus 
penetrated  the  earth  and  the  spirits  of  these  planets 
were  in  peculiar  and  close  relation  with  humanity. 
Iron  is  a  Mars  metal,  and  by  the  admixture  of  iron 


SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN  31 

with  the  blood,  oxidation  is  made  possible;  thus  the 
inner  heat  required  for  the  manifestation  of  an  in- 
dwelling spirit  was  obtained  through  the  agency  of 
the  Lucifer  spirits  from  Mars.  They  are  therefore 
responsible  for  the  conditions  under  which  the  ego  is 
immured  in  the  physical  body. 

When  blood  is  extracted  from  the  human  body  and 
coagulates,  every  particle  is  of  a  peculiar  form  not 
duplicated  by  the  particles  of  any  other  human  being. 
Therefore,  the  one  who  has  blood  of  a  certain  person 
has  a  connecting  link  with  the  spirit  that  built  the 
blood  particles.  He  has  power  over  that  person  if  he 
knows  how  to  use  this  knowledge.  That  is  the  reason 
why  Lucifer  required  the  signature  in  Faust's  blood, 
for  with  the  name  of  his  victim  thus  written  in  blood, 
he  could  hold  the  soul  in  bondage  according  to  the 
laws  involved. 

Yes,  indeed !  Blood  is  a  very  peculiar  essence,  as 
important  in  white  magic  as  in  black.  All  knowledge 
in  whatever  direction  used,  must  necessarily  feed  on 
life  which  is  primarily  derived  from  the  extracts  of  the 
vital  body :  that  is  to  say,  the  sex  force  and  the  blood. 
All  knowledge  that  is  not  thus  fed  and  nurtured,  is 
as  dead  and  as  powerless  as  the  philosophy  Faust  ex- 
tracted from  his  books.  No  books  are  of  themselves 
sufficient.  Only  in  the  measure  that  we  take  that 
knowledge  into  our  lives  and  nourish  it  and  live  it,  is 
it  of  real  value. 

But  there  is  this  great  difference :  that  while  the  as- 
pirant in  the  schools  of  the  Sacred  Science  feeds  his 


32  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

soul  on  his  own  sex  force  and  the  lower  passions  in  his 
own  blood  which  he  thus  transmutes  and  cleanses,  the 
adherents  of  the  black  school  live  as  vampires  on  the 
sex  force  of  others  and  the  impure  blood  drawn  from 
the  veins  of  victims.  In  the  Castle  of  the  Grail  we  see 
the  pure  and  cleansing  blood  working  wonders  upon 
those  who  were  chaste  and  aspired  to  high  deeds,  but 
in  the  Castle  of  Herod,  the  personification  of  voluptu- 
ousness Salome  causes  the  passion  filled  blood  to  race 
riotously  through  the  veins  of  the  participants,  and 
the  blood  dripping  from  the  head  of  the  martyred 
Baptist  served  to  give  them  the  power  they  were  too 
cowardly  to  acquire  through  suffering,  by  cleansing 
themselves  of  impurities. 

Faust  aims  to  acquire  power  quickly  by  the  aid  of 
others,  hence  he  contacts  the  danger  point,  just  as 
everyone  does  today,  who  runs  after  self-styled 
" adepts "  or  " masters,"  who  are  ready  to  pander  to 
the  lowest  appetites  of  their  dupes — for  a  considera- 
tion— as  Lucifer  offers  to  serve  Faust.  But  they  can 
give  no  soul  powers  no  matter  what  they  claim.  That 
comes  from  within,  by  patient  persistence  in  well- 
doing, a  fact  which  cannot  be  too  often  reiterated. 


33 


Chapter  V 
SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN  (cont.) 

BEING  in   a  reckless  mood,  Faust   answers   con- 
temptuously the  demand  of  Lucifer  for  his  signa- 
ture in  blood  to  the  pact  between  them,  with  the  fol- 
lowing words : 

"Be  not  afraid  that  I  shall  break  my  word. 
The  scope  of  all  my  energy 
Is  with  my  vow  in  full  accord. 
Vainly  have  I  aspired  too  high; 
I  'm  on  a  level  but  with  such  as  thou ; 
Me  the  Great  Spirit  scorned,  defied. 
Nature  from  me  herself  doth  hide. 
Rent  is  the  web  of  thought ;  my  mind 
Doth  knowledge  loathe  of  every  kind. 
In  depths  of  sensual  pleasure  drowned 
'  Let  us  our  fiery  passions  still; 
Enwrapped  in  magic 's  veil  profound 
Let  wondrous  charm  our  senses  thrill. 


34  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Having  been  scorned  by  the  powers  which  make  for 
good  and  being  thoroughly  inflamed  with  a  desire  for 
first-hand  knowledge,  for  real  power,  he  is  ready  to 
go  to  any  length.  But  God  is  represented  as  saying 
in  the  prologue : 

"A  good  man  in  his  darkest  aberration, 

Still  knoweth  the  way  that  leadeth  to  salvation. ' ' 

Faust  is  the  aspiring  soul,  and  the  soul  cannot  be 
permanently  diverted  from  the  path  of  evolution. 

The  statement  by  Faust  of  his  purpose  bears  out  the 
assertion  that  he  has  a  high  ideal,  even  when  wal- 
lowing in  mire — he  wants  experience : 

"The  end  I  aim  at  is  not  joy. 
I  crave  excitement,  agonizing  bliss, 
Enamored  hatred,  quickening  vexation. 
Purged  from  the  love  of  knowledge,  my  vocation. 
The  scope  of  all  my  powers  henceforth  be  this : 
To  bare  my  breast  to  every  pang,  to  know 
In  my  heart's  core  all  human  weal  and  woe, 
To  grasp  in  thought  the  lofty  and  the  deep ; 
Man's  various  fortunes  on  my  breast  to  heap." 

Before  anyone  can  be  truly  compassionate,  he 
must  feel  as  Faust  desires  to  feel,  the  depth  of  the 
sorrows  of  the  human  soul  as  well  as  its  most  ecstatic 
joys;  for  only  when  we  know  these  extremes  of  the 
human  passion  can  we  feel  the  compassion  necessary 


SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN  35 

for  those  who  would  aid  in  the  uplift  of  humanity.  By 
the  help  of  Lucifer,  Faust  is  able  to  learn  both  joy 
and  sorrow,  and  thus  Lucifer  is  indeed,  as  he  says, 

".      .      .  The  pow'r  that  still 
Works  for  good,  though  scheming  ill." 

By  the  interference  of  the  Lucifer  spirits  in  the 
scheme  of  evolution,  the  passions  of  mankind  were 
aroused,  intensified  and  led  into  a  channel  which  has 
caused  all  the  sorrow  and  sickness  in  the  world.  Never- 
theless, it  has  awakened  the  individuality  of  man  and 
freed  him  from  the  leading  strings  of  the  angeJs. 
Faust,  also,  by  the  help  of  Lucifer,  is  led  out  of.  the 
conventional  paths  and  becomes  thereby  individ- 
ualized. When  the  bargain  has  been  concluded  be- 
tween Faust  and  Lucifer  we  have  the  replica  of  the 
Sons  of  Cain,  who  are  the  progeny  and  charges  of  the 
Lucifer  Spirits  as  we  have  seen  in  ' '  Freemasonry  and 
Catholicism. ' ' 

In  the  tragedy  of  Faust,  Marguerite  is  the  ward  of 
the  Sons  of  Seth,  the  priesthood  described  in  the  Ma- 
sonic legend.  Presently  the  two  classes  represented 
by  Faust  and  Marguerite  are  to  meet,  and  between 
them  the  tragedy  of  life  will  be  enacted  and  out  of  the 
sorrows  encountered  by  each  in  consequence,  the  soul 
will  grow  wings  that  will  raise  it  again  to  realms  of 
bliss  whence  it  came.  In  the  meanwhile  Lucifer  con- 
ducts Faust  to  the  witches'  kitchen  where  he  is  to  re- 


36  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

ceive  the  elixir  of  youth,  so  that  rejuvenated,  he  may 
become  desirable  in  the  eyes  of  Marguerite. 

When  Faust  is  presented  upon  the  stage,  the 
witches'  kitchen  is  full  of  instruments  supposed  to 
be  used  in  magic.  A  hell-fire  burns  under  a  kettle 
wherein  love  potions  are  brewed  and  there  is  much 
else  which  is  fantastic.  But  we  may  pass  by  the  in- 
animate objects  without  even  mentioning  them,  and 
consider  with  profit  what  is  meant  by  the  family  of 
apes  which  we  find  there,  for  they  also  represent  a 
phase  of  human  evolution. 

Filled  with  a  passion  instilled  by  the  Lucifer  spirits, 
or  fallen  angels,  mankind  broke  away  from  the  an- 
gelic host  led  by  Jehovah.  As  a  consequence  of  the 
hardening  power  of  desire,  " coats  of  skin"  soon  en- 
veloped them  and  separated  them  from  each  other. 
Egotism  supplanted  the  feeling  of  brotherhood  as  the 
nadir  of  materiality  was  approached.  Some  were 
more  passionate  than  others,  hence  their  bodies  crys- 
talized  to  a  greater  extent.  They  degenerated  and  be- 
came apes.  Their  size  also  dwindled  as  they  ap- 
proached the  line  where  the  species  must  be  extin- 
guished. They  are,  therefore,  the  especial  wards  of 
the  Lucifer  spirits.  Thus  the  Faust  myth  shows  us  a 
phase  of  human  evolution  not  included  in  the  Masonic 
legend,  and  gives  us  a  fuller  and  more  rounded  view 
of  what  has  actually  happened. 

Once,  all  mankind  stood  at  the  point  where  the 
scientist  believes  the  missing  link  to  have  been.  Those 


SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN  37 

which  are  now  apes,  degenerated  from  that  point 
while  the  human  family  evolved  to  its  present  stage  of 
development.  We  know  how  indulgence  of  the  pas- 
sions brutalizes  those  who  give  way  to  them,  and  we 
can  readily  realize  that  at  a  time  when  man  was  yet 
in  the  making,  unindividualized,  and  under  direct 
control  of  cosmic  forces,  this  indulgence  would  be  un- 
checked by  the  sense  of  selfhood  which  guards  us  in  a 
measure  today.  Therefore,  the  results  would  naturally 
be  more  far-reaching  and  disastrous. 

Some  time  the  aspiring  soul  must  enter  the  witches ' 
kitchen  as  Faust  did,  and  face  the  object  lesson  of  the 
consequence  of  evil  as  represented  by  the  apes.  The 
soul  is  then  left  to  meet  Marguerite  in  the  garden,  to 
tempt  and  be  tempted,  to  choose  between  purity  or 
passion,  to  fall  as  Faust  did,  or  to  stand  staunchly 
for  purity,  as  did  Parsifal.  Under  the  law  of  com- 
pensation it  will  then  receive  its  reward  for  the  deeds 
done  in  the  body.  Indeed,  luck  is  twin  to  merit,  as 
Lucifer  points  out  to  Faust,  and  true  wisdom  is  only 
acquired  by  patient  persistence  in  well-doing. 

"How  closely  luck  is  linked  to  merit 
Does  never  to  the  fool  occur. 
Had  he  the  wise  man's  stone,  I  swear  it, 
The  stone  had  no  philosopher. ' ' 

True  to  his  purpose  to  study  life  instead  of  books, 
Faust  demands  that  Lucifer  procure  for  him  admit- 
tance to  the  home  of  Marguerite,  and  proceeds  to  win 


38  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

her  affections  by  a  princely  gift  of  jewels  smuggled 
into  her  closet  by  Lucifer.  The  brother  of  Marguerite 
is  away  fighting  for  his  country.  Her  mother  is  un- 
able to  decide  what  is  best  to  do  with  the  gift  and 
takes  it  to  the  spiritual  adviser  in  the  church.  The 
latter  loves  the  shining  stones  more  than  the  precious 
souls  entrusted  to  his  care.  He  neglects  his  duty  for 
a  necklace  of  pearls,  more  eager  to  secure  the  gems  for 
the  adornment  of  an  idol,  than  to  guard  the  child  of 
the  church  against  moral  dangers  lurking  around  her. 
Thus  Lucifer  gains  his  point  and  quickly  reaps  a  re- 
ward of  blood  and  human  souls,  for  in  order  to  gain 
access  to  Marguerite's  chamber,  Faust  induces  her  to 
give  her  mother  a  sleeping  potion  which  results  in  the 
death  of  the  parent.  Valentine,  the  brother  of  Mar- 
guerite, is  killed  by  Faust.  Marguerite  is  cast  into 
prison  and  sentenced  to  suffer  capital  punishment. 

When  we  remember  that  the  blood  is  the  seat  of  the 
soul,  and  that  it  clings  to  the  flesh  of  a  person  who 
meets  a  sudden  and  untimely  end  with  the  same  tenac- 
ity as  the  kernel  adheres  to  the  flesh  of  an  unripe 
fruit,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  there  is  considerable  torture 
connected  with  such  a  death.  The  Lucifer  spirits  re- 
vel in  the  intensity  of  feeling  and  evolve  by  it.  The 
nature  of  an  emotion  is  not  so  essential  as  the  inten- 
sity, so  far  as  the  purpose  is  concerned.  Therefore, 
they  stir  the  human  passions  of  the  lower  nature, 
which  are  more  intense  in  our  present  stage  of  evolu- 
tion than  feelings  of  joy  and  love.  As  a  result,  they 


SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN  39 

incite  to  war  and  bloodshed,  and  appear  evil  now, 
but  in  reality  they  act  as  stepping-stones  towards 
higher  and  nobler  ideals,  for  through  sorrow  and 
suffering  such  as  are  engendered  in  the  breast  of 
Marguerite,  the  soul  rises  higher  in  the  scale  of  evolu- 
tion. It  learns  the  value  of  virtue  by  a  misstep  in  the 
direction  of  vice. 

It  was  with   true    appreciation   of  this   fact  that 
Goethe  wrote : 

* '  Who  never  ate  his  bread  in  sorrow, 
Who  never  spent  the  midnight  hours, 
Weeping,  waiting  for  the  morrow, 
He  knows  ye  not,  ye  heavenly  powers." 


40 


Chapter  VI 
THE  WAGES  OF  SIN  AND  THE  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


£{rriHE  wages  of  sin  is  death,"  says  the  Bible,  and 
JL  when  we  sow  to  the  flesh  we  must  expect  to 
reap  corruption.  Neither  should  we  be  surprised  that 
one  who  is  negative  of  character,  like  the  class  de- 
scribed as  the  Sons  of  Seth,  represented  by  Mar- 
guerite in  the  Faust  myth,  falls  a  prey  to  this  law  of 
nature  at  an  early  date  after  his  measure  of  sin  has 
been  filled.  The  speedy  apprehension  of  Marguerite 
for  the  crime  of  matricide  is  an  illustration  of  how 
the  law  works.  The  holy"  horror  of  the  church  that 
was  remiss  in  not  guarding  her  while  there  was  yet 
time,  is  an  example  of  how  society  seeks  to  cover  up 
its  negligence,  and  holds  up  its  hands,  shocked  by  the 
crimes  for  which  it  is  itself,  in  a  great  measure  re- 
sponsible. 

Had  the  priest  sought  the  confidence  of  Marguerite 
instead  of  coveting  the  jewels,  he  might  have  pro- 
tected her  from  the  fate  that  befell  her,  and  though 
she  might  have  suffered  by  losing  her  lover,  she  would 
have  remained  pure.  It  is,  however,  through  the  inten- 


SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN  41 

sity  of  sorrow  that  the  suffering  soul  finds  its  way 
back  to  the  source  of  its  being,  for  we  have  all  as 
grodigal  sons  left  our  Father  in  Heaven;  we  have 
wandered  afar  from  the  realms  of  spirit,  to  feed  upon 
the  husks  of  matter,  to  gather  experience  and  to  gain 
individuality. 

When  we  are  in  the  slough  of  despair  we  begin  to 
realize  our  high  parentage  and  exclaim,  "I  will  arise 
and  go  to  my  Father."  Membership  in  churches,  or 
the  study  of  mysticism  from  an  intellectual  point  of 
view,  does  not  bring  the  realization  of  the  whither, 
which  is  necessary  before  we  can  follow  the  Path.  But 
when  we  are  bereft  of  all  earthly  support,  when  we 
are  sick  and  in  prison,  we  are  nearer  and  dearer  to 
the  Saviour  than  at  any  other  time.  Therefore,  Mar- 
guerite in  prison  and  under  the  ban  of  society,  is 
closer  to  God  than  the  innocent,  beautiful  and  pure 
Marguerite,  who  had  the  world  before  her  when  she 
met  Faust  in  the  garden. 

The  Christ  has  no  message  for  those  who  are  satis- 
fied and  love  the  world  and  its  ways.  So  long  as 
they  are  in  that  condition  of  mind  He  cannot  speak  to 
them  nor  can  they  hear  His  voice.  But  there  is  an 
infinite  tenderness  in  the  words  of  the  Saviour: 
"Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  The  sinning  soul 
symbolized  by  Marguerite  in  her  prison  cell,  standing 
alone,  ostracized  from  society  as  a  moral  and  social 
leper,  is  impelled  to  turn  her  eyes  heavenward  and  her 
prayer  is  not  in  vain.  Yet,  even  to  the  last  moment, 


42  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

temptations  beset  the  seeking  soul.  The  gate  of  hell 
and  the  gate  of  heaven  are  equally  close  to  the  prison 
cell  of  Marguerite,  as  illustrated  by  the  visit  of  Faust 
and  Lucifer  who  endeavor  to  drag  her  from  prison 
and  impending  death  to  a  life  of  shame  and  bondage. 
But  she  stands  firm ;  she  prefers  prison  and  death  to 
life  and  liberty  in  the  company  of  Lucifer.  She  has 
thus  stood  the  test  and  qualified  for  the  Kingdom  of 
God. 

Solomon  was  the  serf  of  Jehovah  and  as  a  Son  of 
Seth  he  was  bound  to  the  God  who  created  him  and 
his  ancestors.  But  in  a  later  life,  as  Jesus,  he  left  his 
former  Master  at  the  Baptism  and  then  received  the 
Spirit  of  the  Christ.  So  every  Son  of  Seth,  must  some 
day  leave  his  guardians  and  take  a  stand  for  Christ, 
regardless  of  the  sacrifice  entailed  thereby,  even 
though  life  be  the  price. 

Marguerite  in  her  prison  cell  takes  that  important 
step  and  qualifies  for  citizenship  in  the  New  Heaven 
and  the  New  Earth,  ~by  faith  in  Christ.  Faust,  on 
the  other  hand,  remains  with  the  Lucifer  spirit  for  a 
considerable  time.  He  is  a  more  positive  character,  a 
true  Son  of  Cain,  and  though  the  wages  of  sin  must 
eventually  bring  him  death,  salvation  may  come 
through  a  purer  conception  of  love  and  through  works. 

In  the  second  part  of  Faust  we  find  the  hero  broken 
in  spirit  over  the  disaster  which  has  befallen  Mar- 
guerite through  his  instrumentality.  He  realizes  his 
fault  and  begins  to  climblhe  road  of  redemption.  He 
uses  the  Lucifer  spirit,  bound  to  him  by  the  bargain 


SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN  43 

of  blood  as  a  means  of  attaining  his  end.  He  becomes 
an  important  factor  in  the  affairs  of  state  of  the  coun- 
try whither  he  has  journeyed,  for  all  the  Sons  of  Cain 
delight  in  statecraft  as  the  Sons  of  Seth  love  church- 
craft. 

Not  content,  however,  to  serve  another,  under  ex- 
isting conditions,  Faust  sets  the  diabolical  forces  un- 
der his  command  to  create  a  land,  to  raise  it  out  of 
the  sea  and  make  a  New  Earth.  He  dreams  a  Utopian 
dream  of  how  this  free  land  shall  be  the  home  of  a  free 
people  who  shall  dwell  there  in  peace  and  content- 
ment living  up  to  the  highest  ideals  of  life. 

These  ideals  are  generated  in  his  soul  by  the  love  of 
a  character  called  Helen,  which  is  a  love  of  the  loftiest 
and  most  spiritual  nature,  entirely  separate  from  the 
thought  of  sex  and  passion.  In  the  course  of  time  he 
sees  this  land  rise  from  the  sea  but  his  eyes  are  grow- 
ing blind,  for  he  is  shifting  his  gaze  from  an  earthly 
to  a  heavenly  condition.  While  he  thus  stands  look- 
ing at  the  forces  marshalled  by  Lucifer,  toiling  at  his 
behest  day  and  night,  Faust  realizes  that  he  has  made 
real  the  claim  of  Lucifer,  to  be 

"The  power  that  still 

Works  for  good  though  scheming  ill." 

He  sees  his  work  with  the  lower  forces  nearing  com- 
pletion, but  his  sight  grows  dimmer,  and  with  that  in- 


44  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

tense  longing  which  comes  to  the  soul  to  see  the  fruit- 
age of  its  works,  he  desires  to  retain  his  sight  until 
all  shall  have  been  accomplished  and  his  Utopian 
dream  shall  have  become  a  reality.  Therefore,  as  the 
vision  before  him — the  land  rising  from  the  sea  and 
the  happy  people  who  live  upon  it  in  good  fellowship 
— fades  from  his  sightless  eyes,  he  utters  the  fateful 
words  named  by  him  in  his  bargain  with  Lucifer : 

11  Whenever  to  the  passing  hour 
I  say,  *  Oh  stay !  thou  art  so  fair, 
Then  unto  thee  I  give  the  power 
To  drag  me  down  to  deep  despair. 
Then  let  my  knell  no  longer  linger, 
Then  from  my  service  thou  art  free ; 
Fall  from  the  clock  the  index  finger, 
Be  time  all  over  then  for  me." 

By  the  terms  of  that  bargain,  when  Faust  has  uttered 
the  fateful  words  the  forces  of  hell  are  loosed  from 
bondage  to  him,  and  he  in  turn  becomes  their  prey: 
at  least  so  it  would  seem.  But  Faust  did  not  desire 
to  stay  the  march  of  time  for  the  purpose  of  enjoy- 
ing sensual  pleasures  nor  of  gratifying  selfish  desires, 
as  contemplated  by  the  bargain.  It  was  for  the  real- 
ization of  an  altruistic  and  a  noble  ideal  that  he 
wished  to  stay  the  passing  hour.  Therefore,  he  is 
really  free  from  Lucifer,  and  a  battle  between  the 
angelic  forces  and  the  hosts  of  Lucifer  finally  results 
in  the  triumph  of  the  former,  who  carry  the  seeking 


SELLING  His  SOUL  TO  SATAN  45 

soul  to  the  haven  of  rest  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Christ, 
while  they  utter  the  following  words : 

' '  Saved  is  the  noble  soul  from  ill, 
Our  spirit  peer.    Whoever 
Strives  forward  with  unswerving  will 
Him  can  we  aye  deliver. 
And  if  with  him  celestial  love 
Hath  taken  part,  to  meet  him 
Come  down  the  angels  from  above; 
With  cordial  hail  they  greet  him." 

Thus  the  Faust  of  the  myth  is  an  entirely  different 
character  from  the  Faust  of  the  stage ;  and  the  drama 
which  begins  in  heaven  where  permission  was  given 
Lucifer  to  tempt  him,  as  Job  was  tempted  in  ancient 
times,  also  ends  in  heaven  when  the  temptation  has 
been  overcome  and  the  soul  has  returned  to  its 
Father. 

Goethe,  the  great  mystic,  fittingly  ends  his  version 
with  that  most  mystic  of  all  stanzas  found  in  any 
literature : 

"All  that  is  perishable, 
Is  but  a  likeness. 
The  unattainable 
Here  is  accomplished. 
The  indescribable, 
Here  it  is  done. 
The  Eternal  Feminine 
Draws  us  on. ' ' 


46  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

This  stanza  puzzles  all  who  are  not  able  to  pene- 
trate into  the  realms  where  it  is  supposed  to  be  sung, 
namely  heaven. 

It  speaks  of  all  that  is  perishable  being  but  a  like- 
ness, that  is  to  say,  the  material  forms  which  are  sub- 
ject to  death  and  transmutation  are  but  a  likeness  of 
the  archetype  seen  in  heaven.  "The  unattainable 
here  is  accomplished" — that  which  seemed  impossible 
on  earth  is  accomplished  in  heaven.  No  one  knows 
that  better  than  one  able  to  function  in  that  realm, 
for  there  every  high  and  lofty  aspiration  finds  frui- 
tion. The  indescribable  longings,  ideas  and  experiences 
of  the  soul,  which  even  it  cannot  express  to  itself  are 
clearly  defined  in  heaven;  the  Eternal  Feminine,  the 
great  Creative  Force  in  nature,  the  Mother  God,  which 
draws  us  along  the  path  of  evolution,  becomes  there  a 
reality.  Thus  the  Faust  myth  tells  the  story  of  the 
World  Temple,  which  the  two  classes  of  people  are 
building  and  which  will  be  finally  the  New  Heaven 
and  the  New  Earth  prophesied  in  the  Book  of  Books. 


,3f 


a»tmjs 


49 


Chapter  VII 
PARSIFAL:  WAGNER'S  FAMOUS  MYSTIC  Music  DRAMA 

AS  we  look  about  us  in  the  material  universe  we  see 
a  myriad  of  forms  and  all  these  forms  have  a 
certain  color~and.  many  of  them  emit  a  definite  tone; 
in  fact  all  do,  for  there  is  sound  even  in  so-called  in- 
animate nature.  The  wind  in  the  tree  tops,  the  bab- 
bling of  the  brook,  the  swell  of  the  ocean  are  all  defi- 
nite contributions  to  the  harmony  of  nature. 

Of  these  three  attributes  of  nature,  form,  color  and 
tone,  form  is  the  most  stable,  tending  to  remain  in 
statu  quo  for  a  considerable  time  and  changing  very 

4 


50  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

slowly.  Color  on  the  other  hand,  changes  more  read- 
ily: it  fades,  and  there  are  some  colors  that  change 
their  hue  when  held  at  different  angles  to  the  light; 
but  tone  is  the  most  elusive  of  all  three ;  it  comes  and 
goes  like  a  will-o'-the-wisp,  which  none  may  catch  or 
hold. 

We  also  have  three  arts  which  seek  to  express  the 
good,  the  true  and  the  beautiful  in  these  three  at- 
tributes of  the  World  Soul :  namely,  sculpture,  paint- 
ing and  music. 

The  sculptor  who  deals  with  form  seeks  to  imprison 
beauty  in  a  marble  statue  that  will  withstand  the 
ravages  of  time  during  niiLlenniums ;  but  a  marble 
statue  is  cold  and  speaks  to  but  a  few  of  the  most 
evolved  who  are  able  to  infuse  the  statue  with  their 
own  life. 

The  painter 's  art  deals  pre-eminently  with  color ;  it 
gives  no  tangible  form  to  its  creations ;  the  form  on  a 
painting  is  an  illusion  from  the  material  point  of  view, 
yet  it  is  so  much  more  real  to  most  people  than  the  real 
tangible  statue,  for  the  forms  of  the  painter  are  alive ; 
there  is  living  beauty  in  the  painting  of  a  great  artist, 
a  beauty  that  many  can  appreciate  and  enjoy. 

But  in  the  case  of  a  painting  we  are  again  affected 
by  the  changeableness  of  color;  time  soon  blots  out 
its  freshness,  and  at  the  best,  of  course,  no  paint- 
ing can  outlast  a  statue. 

Yet  in  those  arts  which  deal  with  form  and  color 
there  is  a  creation  once  and  for  all  time;  they  have 
that  in  common,  and  in  that  they  differ  radically 


PARSIFAL:  WAGNER 's  MYSTIC  DRAMA  51 

from  the  tone  art,  for  music  is  so  elusive  that  it  must 
be  recreated  each  time  we  wish  to  enjoy  it,  but  in  re- 
turn it  has  a  power  to  speak  to  all  human  beings  in  a 
manner  that  is  entirely  beyond  the  other  two  arts.  It 
will  add  to  our  greatest  joys  and  soothe  our  deepest 
sorrows;  it  can  calm  the  passion  of  the  savage  breast 
and  stir  to  bravery  the  greatest  coward ;  it  is  the  most 
potent  influence  in  swaying  humanity  that  is  known 
to  man,  and  yet,  viewed  solely  from  the  material 
standpoint,  it  is  superfluous,  as  shown  by  Darwin  and 
Spencer. 

It  is  only  when  we  go  behind  the  scenes  of  the 
visible  and  realize  that  man  is  a  composite  being, 
spirit,  soul  and  body,  that  we  are  enabled  to  under- 
stand why  we  are  thus  differently  affected  by  the 
products  of  the  three  arts. 

While  man  lives  an  outward  life  in  the  form  world, 
where  he  lives  a  form  life  among  other  forms,  he  lives 
also  an  inner  life,  which  is  of  far  greater  importance 
to  him;  a  life  where  his  feelings,  thoughts  and  emo- 
tions create  before  his  "inner  vision"  pictures  and 
scenes  that  are  everchanging,  and  the  fuller  this  inner 
life  is,  the  less  will  the  man  need  to  seek  company  out- 
side himself,  for  he  is  his  own  best  company,  inde- 
pendent of  the  outside  amusement,  so  eagerly  sought 
by  those  whose  inner  life  is  barren;  who  know  hosts 
of  other  people,  but  are  strangers  to  themselves,  afraid 
of  their  own  company. 

If  we  analyze  this  inner  life  we  shall  find  that  it  is 
twofold:  (1)  The  soul  life,  which  deals  with  the 


52  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

feelings  and  emotions:  (2)  the  activity  of  the  ego, 
which  directs  all  actions  by  thought. 

Just  as  the  material  world  is  the  base  of  supply 
whence  the  materials  for  our  dense  body  have  been 
drawn,  and  is  pre-eminently  the  world  of  form,  so 
there  is  a  world  of  the  soul,  called  the  Desire  World 
among  the  Rosicrucians,  which  is  the  base  from 
whence  the  subtle  garment  of  the  ego,  which  we  call 
the  soul,  has  been  drawn,  and  this  world  is  particu- 
larly the  world  of  color.  But  the  still  more  subtle 
World  of  Thought  is  the  home  of  the  human  spirit,  the 
ego,  and  also  the  realm  of  tone.  Therefore,  of  the  three 
arts,  music  has  the  greatest  power  over  man ;  for  while 
we  are  in  this  terrestrial  life  we  are  exiled  from  our 
heavenly  home  and  have  often  forgotten  it  in  our  ma- 
terial pursuits,  but  then  comes  music,  a  fragrant  odor 
laden  with  unspeakable  memories.  Like  an  echo  from 
home  it  reminds  us  of  that  forgotten  land  where  all 
is  joy  and  peace,  and  even  though  we  may  scout  such 
ideas  in  our  material  mind,  the. ego  knows  each  blessed 
note  as  a  message  from  the  home  land  and  rejoices 
in  it. 

This  realization  of  the  nature  of  music  is  necessary 
to  the  proper  appreciation  of  such  a  great  master- 
piece as  Richard  Wagner's  Parsifal,  where  the  music 
and  the  characters  are  bound  together  as  in  no  other 
modern  musical  production. 

Wagner's  drama  is  founded  upon  the  legend  of 
Parsifal,  a  legend  that  has  its  origin  enshrouded  in 


PARSIFAL:  WAGNER'S  MYSTIC  DRAMA  53 

the  mystery  which  overshadows  the  infancy  of  the 
human  race.  It  is  an  erroneous  idea 'when  we  think 
that  a  myth  is  a  figment  of  human  fancy,  having  no 
foundation  in  fact.  On  the  contrary,  a  myth  is  a 
casket  containing  at  times  the  deepest  and  most  pre- 
cious jewels  of  spiritual  truth,  pearls  of  beauty  so  rare 
and  ethereal  that  they  cannot  stand  exposure  to  the 
material  intellect.  In  order  to  shield  them  and  at  the 
same  time  allow  them  to  work  upon  humanity  for  its 
spiritual  upliftment,  the  Great  Teachers  who  guide 
evolution,  unseen  but  potent,  give  these  spiritual 
truths  to  nascent  humanity,  encased  in  the  picturesque 
symbolism  of  myths,  so  that  they  may  work  upon 
our  feelings  until  such  time  as  our  dawning  intellects 
shall  have  become  sufficiently  evolved  and  spirit- 
ualized so  that  we  may  both  feel  and  know. 

This  is  on  the  same  principle  that  we  give  our  chil- 
dren moral  teachings  by  means  of  picture  books  and 
fairy  tales,  reserving  the  more  direct  teaching  for 
later  years. 

Wagner  did  more  than  merely  copy  the  legend. 
Legends,  like  all  else,  become  encrusted  by  transmis- 
sion and  lose  their  beauty  and  it  is  a  further  evidence 
of  Wagner 's  greatness  that  he  was  never  bound  in  his 
expression  by  fashion  or  creed.  He  always  asserted 
the  prerogative  of  art  in  dealing  with  allegories  Tin- 
trammeled  and  free. 

As  he  says  in  Religion  and  Art :  ' l  One  might  say 
that  where  religion  becomes  artificial,  it  is  reserved 
for  art  to  save  the  spirit  of  religion  by  recognizing 


54  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

the  figurative  value  of  the  mythical  symbol,  which 
religion  would  have  us  believe  in  a  literal  sense,  and 
revealing  its  deep  and  hidden  truths  through  an 
ideal  presentation.  *  *  *  Whilst  the  priest  stakes 
everything  on  religious  allegories  being  accepted  as 
matters  of  fact,  the  artist  has  no  concern  at  all  with 
such  a  thing,  since  he  freely  and  openly  gives  out  his 
work  as  his  own  invention.  But  religion  has  sunk  into 
an  artificial  life  when  she  finds  herself  compelled  to 
to  keep  on  adding  to  the  edifice  of  her  dogmatic  sym- 
bols, and  thus  conceals  the  one  divinely  true  in  her, 
beneath  an  ever-growing  heap  of  incredibilities  recom- 
mended to  belief.  Feeling  this,  she  has  always  sought 
the  aid  of  art,  who  on  her  side  has  remained  incapable 
of  a  higher  evolution  so  long  as  she  must  present  that 
alleged  reality  to  the  worshiper,  in  the  form  of  fetishes 
and  idols,  whereas  she  could  only  fulfill  her  true  voca- 
tion when,  by  an  ideal  presentment  of  the  allegorical 
figure,  she  led  to  an  apprehension  of  its  inner  kernel — 
the  truth  ineffably  divine." 

<•*•  Turning  to  a  consideration  of  the  drama  of  Parsifal 
we  find  that  the  opening  scene  is  laid  in  the  grounds 
of  the  Castle  of  Mount  Salvat.  This  is  a  place  of 
peace,  where  all  life  is  sacred;  the  animals  and  birds 
are  tame,  for,  like  all  really  holy  men,  the  knights 
are  harmless,  killing  neither  to  eat  nor  for  sport.  They 
apply  the  maxim,  ''Live  and  let  live,"  to  all  living 
creatures. 

It  is  dawn,  and  we  see  Gurnemanz,  the  oldest  of  the 
Grail  Knights,  with  two  young  squires  under  a  tree. 


PARSIFAL:  WAGNER'S  MYSTIC  DRAMA  55 

They  have  just  awakened  from  their  night 's  rest,  and 
in  the  distance  they  spy  Kundry  coming  galloping  on 
a  wild  steed.  In  Kundry  we  see  a  creature  of  two 
existences,  one  as  servitor  of  the  Grail,  willing  and 
anxious  to  further  the  interests  of  the  Grail  Knights 
by  all  means  within  her  power;  this  seems  to  be  her 
real  nature.  In  the  other  existence  she  is  the  unwilling 
slave  of  the  magician  Klingsor  and  is  forced  by  him 
to  tempt  and  harass  the  Grail  Knights  whom  she  longs 
to  serve.  The  gate  from  one  existence  to  the  other  is 
"sleep,"  and  she  is  bound  to  serve  him  who  finds 
and  wakes  her.  When  Gurnemanz  finds  her  she  is 
the  willing  servitor  of  the  Grail,  but  when  Klingsor 
evokes  her  by  his  evil  spells  he  is  entitled  to  her  serv- 
ices whether  she  will  or  not. 

In  the  first  act  she  is  clothed  in  a  robe  of  snake 
skins,  symbolical  of  the  doctrine  of  rebirth,  for  as  the 
snake  sheds  its  skin,  coat  after  coat,  which  it  exudes 
from  itself,  so  the  ego  in  its  evolutionary  pilgrimage 
emanates  from  itself  one  body  after  another,  shedding 
each  vehicle  as  the  snake  sheds  its  skin,  when  it  has  be- 
come hard,  set  and  crystallized  so  that  it  has  lost  its 
efficiency.  This  idea  is  also  coupled  with  the  teach- 
ings of  the  law  of  consequence,  which  bring  to  us  as 
reapings  whatever  we  sow,  in  Gurnemanz 's  answer 
to  the  young  squire's  avowal  of  distrust  in  Kundry: 

Under  a  curse  she  well  may  be 
From  some  past  life  we  do  not  see, 
Seeking  from  sin  to  loose  the  fetter, 


56  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

By  deeds  for  which  we  fare  the  better. 
Surely  'tis  good  she  follows  thus, 
Helping  herself  while  serving  us. 

When  Kundry  comes  on  the  scene  she  pulls  from 
her  bosom  a  phial  which  she  says  she  has  brought 
from  Araby  and  which  she  hopes  will  be  a  balm  for 
the  wound  in  the  side  of  Amfortas,  the  King  of  the 
Grail,  which  causes  him  unspeakable  suffering  and 
which  cannot  heal.  The  suffering  king  is  then  car- 
ried onto  the  stage,  reclining  on  a  couch.  He  is  on 
his  way  to  his  daily  bath  in  the  near-by  lake,  where 
two  swans  swim  and  make  the  waters  into  a  healing 
lotion  which  assuages  his  dreadful  sufferings.  Am- 
fortas thanks  Kundry,  but  expresses  the  opinion  that 
there  is  no  relief  for  him  till  the  deliverer  has  come, 
of  whom  the  Grail  has  prophesied,  "a  virgin  fool, 
by  pity  enlightened."  But  Amfortas  thinks  death 
will  come  before  deliverance. 

Amfortas  is  carried  out,  and  four  of  the  young 
squires  crowd  around  Gurnemanz  and  ask  him  to  tell 
them  the  story  of  the  Grail  and  of  Amfortas'  wound. 
They  all  recline  beneath  the  tree,  and  Gurnemanz 
begins : 

4 'On  the  night  when  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Christ 
Jesus,  ate  the  Last  Supper  with  his  disciples  He  drank 
the  wine  from  a  certain  chalice,  and  that  was  later 
used  by  Joseph  of  Arimathea  to  catch  the  lifeblood 
which  flowed  from  the  wound  in  the  Redeemer's 


PARSIFAL:  WAGNER'S  MYSTIC  DRAMA  57 

side.  He  also  kept  the  bloody  lance  wherewith  the 
wound  was  inflicted,  and  carried  these  relics  with  him 
through  many  perils  and  persecutions.  At  last  they 
were  taken  in  charge  by  angels,  who  guarded  them 
until  one  night  a  mystic  messenger  sent  from  God  ap- 
peared and  bade  Titurel,  Amfortas'  father,  build  a 
castle  for  the  reception  and  safe-keeping  of  these 
relics.  Thus  the  Castle  of  Mount  Salvat  was  built  on 
a  high  mountain,  and  the  relics  lodged  there  under 
the  guardianship  of  Titurel  with  a  band  of  holy  and 
chaste  knights  whom  he  had  drawn  around  him.  It 
became  a  center  whence  mighty  spiritual  influences 
went  forth  to  the  outside  world. 

"But  there  lived  in  yonder  heathen  vale  a  black 
knight  who  was  not  chaste,  yet  desired  to  become  a 
Knight  of  the  Grail,  and  to  that  end  he  mutilated 
himself.  He  deprived  himself  of  the  ability  to  gratify 
his  passion,  but  the  passion  remained.  King  Titurel 
saw  his  heart  filled  with  black  desire,  and  refused  him 
admittance.  Klingsor  then  swore  that  if  he  could  not 
serve  the  Grail,  the  Grail  should  serve  him.  He  built 
a  castle  with  a  magic  garden  and  populated  it  with 
maidens  of  ravishing  beauty,  who  emitted  an  odor 
like  flowers,  and  these  waylaid  the  Knights  of  the 
Grail,  (who  must  pass  the  castle  when  leaving  or  re- 
turning to  Mount  Salvat),  ensnaring  them  to  betray 
their  trust  and  violate  their  vows  of  chastity.  Thus 
they  became  the  prisoners  of  Klingsor  and  but  few  re- 
mained as  defenders  of  the  Grail. 


58  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

1  'In  the  meantime  Titurel  had  turned  the  warden- 
ship  of  the  Grail  over  to  his  son  Amfortas  and  the 
latter,  seeing  the  serious  havoc  wrought  by  Klingsor, 
determined  to  go  out  to  meet  and  to  do  battle  with 
him.  To  that  end  he  took  with  him  the  holy  spear. 

' '  The  wily  Klingsor  did  not  meet  Amfortas  in  per- 
son, but  evoked  Kundry  and  transformed  her  from  the 
hideous  creature  who  appeared  as  the  servitor  of  the 
Grail  to  a  woman  of  transcendent  beauty.  Under 
Klingsor 's  spell  she  met  and  tempted  Amfortas,  who 
yielded  and  sank  into  her  arms,  letting  go  his  hold 
upon  the  sacred  spear.  Klingsor  then  appeared, 
grasped  the  spear,  inflicted  a  wound  upon  the  defense- 
less Amfortas,  and  but  for  the  heroic  efforts  of  Gurne- 
manz he  would  have  carried  Amfortas  a  prisoner  to  his 
magic  castle.  He  has  the  holy  spear,  however,  and 
the  king  is  crippled  with  suffering,  for  the  wound 
will  not  heal." 

The  young  squires  spring  up,  fired  with  ardor,  vow- 
ing that  they  will  conquer  Klingsor  and  restore  the 
spear.  Gurnemanz  sadly  shakes  his  head,  saying  that 
the  task  is  beyond  them,  but  reiterates  the  prophecy 
that  the  redemption  shall  be  accomplished  by  a  ' '  pure 
fool,  by  pity  enlightened." 

Now  cries  are  heard:  ''The  swan!  Oh,  the  swan!" 
and  a  swan  flutters  across  the  stage  and  falls  dead 
at  the  feet  of  Gurnemanz  and  the  squires,  who  are 
much  agitated  at  the  sight.  Other  squires  bring  in  a 
stalwart  youth  armed  with  bow  and  arrows,  and  to 
Gurnemanz 's  sad  enquiry,  "Why  did  you  shoot  the 


PARSIFAL:  WAGNER'S  MYSTIC  DRAMA  59 

harmless  creature?"  he  answers  innocently,  ""Was  it 
wrong?"  Gurnemanz  then  tells  him  of  the  suffering 
king  and  of  the  swan's  part  in  making  the  healing 
bath.  Parsifal  is  deeply  moved  at  the  recital  and 
breaks  his  bow. 

In  all  religions  the  quickening  spirit  has  been  sym- 
bolically represented  as  a  bird.  At  the  baptism,  when 
Jesus'  body  was  in  the  water  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
descended  into  it  as  a  dove.  "The  Spirit  moves  upon 
the  water, ' '  a  f luidic  medium,  as  the  swans  move  upon 
the  lake  beneath  the  Yggdrasil,  the  tree  of  life  of 
Norse  mythology,  or  upon  the  waters  of  the  lake  in^ 
the  legend  of  the  Grail.  The  bird  is  therefore  a  direct 
representation  of  highest  spiritual  influence  and  well 
may  the  knights  sorrow  at  the  loss.  Truth  is  many 
sided.  There  are  at  least  seven  valid  interpretations 
to  each  myth,  one  for  each  world,  and  looked  at  from 
the  material,  literal  side,  the  compassion  engendered 
in  Parsifal  and  the  breaking  of  his  bow  mark  a  defi- 
nite step  in  the  higher  life.  No  one  can  be  truly  com- 
passionate and  a  helper  in  evolution  while  he  kills  to 
eat,  either  in  person  or  by  proxy.  The  harmless  life  is 
an  absolute  essential  prerequisite  to  the  helpful  life. 

Gurnemanz  then  commences  to  question  him  about 
himself :  who  he  is,  and  how  he  came  to  Mount  Salvat. 
Parsifal  displays  the  most  surprising  ignorance.  To 
all  questions  he  answers,  "I  do  not  know."  At  last 
Kundry  speaks  up  and  says :  '  *  I  can  tell  you  who  he 
is.  His  father  was  the  noble  Gamuret,  a  prince  among 


60  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

men,  who  died  fighting  in  Arabia  while  this  child  was 
yet  in  the  womb  of  his  mother,  Lady  Herzleide.  With 
his  last,  dying  breath  his  father  named  him  Parsifal, 
the  pure  fool.  Fearing  that  he  would  grow  up  to 
learn  the  art  of  war  and  be  taken  from  her,  his  mother 
brought  him  up  in  a  dense  forest  in  ignorance  of 
weapons  and  warfare." 

Here  Parsifal  chimes  in:  "Yes,  and  one  day  I  saw 
some  men  on  shapely  beasts ;  I  wanted  to  be  like  them, 
so  I  followed  them  for  many  days  till  at  last  I  came 
here  and  I  had  to  fight  many  manlike  monsters." 

In  this  story  we  have  an  excellent  picture  of  the 
soul's  search  for  the  realities  of  life.  Gamuret  and 
Parsifal  are  different  phases  of  the  life  of  the  soul. 
Gamuret  is  the  man  of  the  world,  but  in  time  he  be- 
came wedded  to  Herzleide,  heart  affliction,  in  other 
words.  He  meets  sorrow  and  dies  to  the  world,  as  all 
of  us  do  who  have  come  into  the  higher  life.  While 
the  bark  of  life  floats  on  summer  seas  and  our  exist- 
ence seems  one  grand,  sweet  song  there  is  no  incentive 
to  turn  to  the  higher ;  every  fibre  in  our  bodies  cries, 
"This  is  good  enough  for  me,"  but  when  the  billows 
of  adversity  roar  around  us  and  each  succeeding  wave 
threatens  to  engulf  us,  then  we  have  wedded  heart 
affliction  and  become  men  of  sorrows,  and  are  ready 
to  be  born  as  Parsifal,  the  pure  fool  or  the  soul  who 
has  forgotten  the  wisdom  of  the  world  and  is  seeking 
for  the  higher  life.  So  long  as  a  man  is  seeking  to 
accumulate  money  or  to  have  a  good  time,  so  miscalled, 
he  is  wise  with  the  wisdom  of  the  world ;  but  when  he 


PARSIFAL:  WAGNER'S  MYSTIC  DRAMA  61 

sets  his  face  toward  the  things  of  the  spirit,  he  be- 
comes a  fool  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  He  forgets  all 
about  his  past  life  and  leaves  his  sorrows  behind  him, 
as  Parsifalleft  Herzleide,  and  we  are  told  that  she 
died  when  Parsifal  did  not  return  to  her.  So  sorrow 
dies  when  it  has  given  birth  to  the  aspiring  soul  that 
flees  from  the  world;  he  may  be  in  the  world  to  per- 
form his  duty  but  is  not  of  the  world. 

Gurnemanz  has  now  become  imbued  with  the  idea 
that  Parsifal  is  to  be  the  deliverer  of  Amfortas  and 
takes  him  along  to  the  Grail  Castle.  And  to  Parsifal's 
question,  * '  Who  is  the  Grail  1 "  he  answers : 

That  tell  we  not;  but  if  thou  hast  of  Him  been 

bidden, 

From  thee  the  truth  will  not  stay  hidden. 
Methinks  thy  face  I  rightly  knew. 
The  land  to  Him  no  path  leads  through, 
And  search  but  severs  from  Him  wider, 
When  He  Himself  is  not  its  guider. 

Here  we  find  Wagner  bringing  us  back  into  pre- 
Christian  times,  for  before  the  advent  of  Christ,  Ini- 
tiation was  not  free  to  "whosoever  will"  seek  in  the 
proper  manner,  but  was  reserved  for  certain  chosen 
ones  such  as  the  Brahmins  and  the  Levites,  who  were 
given  special  privileges  in  return  for  being  dedicated 
to  the  temple  service.  The  coming  of  Christ,  however, 
wrought  certain  definite  changes  in  the  constitution 


62  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

of  mankind,  so  now  all  are  capable  of  entering  the 
pathway  of  Initiation.  Indeed,  it  had  to  be  so  when 
international  marriages  took  away  caste. 

At  the  Castle  of  the  Grail,  Amfortas  is  being  im- 
portuned on  all  sides  to  perform  the  sacred  rite  of  the 
Grail  service,  to  uncover  the  holy  chalice  that  the 
sight  of  it  may  renew  the  ardor  of  the  knights  and 
spur  them  on  to  deeds  of  spiritual  service;  but  he 
shrinks,  from  fear  of  the  pain  the  sight  will  cause 
him  to  feel.  The  wound  in  his  side  always  starts  to 
bleed  afresh  at  the  sight  of  the  Grail,  as  the  wound 
of  remorse  pains  us  all  when  we  have  sinned  against 
our  ideal.  At  last,  however,  he  yields  to  the  com- 
bined entreaties  of  his  father  and  the  knights.  He 
performs  the  holy  rite,  though  the  while  he  suffers 
the  most  excruciating  agony,  and  Parsifal,  who  stands 
in  a  corner,  feels  sympathetically  the  same  pain,  with- 
out realizing  why,  and  when  Gurnemanz  eagerly  asks 
him  after  the  ceremony  what  he  saw,  he  remains  dumb 
and  is  thrust  out  of  the  castle  by  the  angry,  because 
disappointed,  old  knight. 

The  feelings  and  emotions  unchecked  by  knowledge 
are  fruitful  sources  of  temptation.  The  very  harmless- 
ness  and  guilelessness  of  the  aspiring  soul  renders  it 
often  an  easy  prey  to  sin.  It  is  necessary  to  soul 
growth  that  these  temptations  come  in  order  to  bring 
out  our  weak  points.  If  we  fall,  we  suffer  as  did 
Amfortas,  but  the  pain  evolves  conscience  and  gives 
abhorrence  of  sin.  It  makes  us  strong  against  tempta- 


PARSIFAL:  WAGNER'S  MYSTIC  DRAMA  63 

tion.  Every  child  is  innocent  because  it  has  not  been 
tempted,  but  only  when  we  have  been  tempted  and 
have  remained  pure,  or  when  we  have  fallen,  re- 
pented and  reformed  are  we  virtuous.  Therefore 
Parsifal  must  be  tempted. 

In  the  second  act  we  see  Klingsor  in  the  act  of  evok- 
ing Kundry,  for  he  has  spied  Parsifal  coming  towards 
his  castle,  and  he  fears  him  more  than  all  who  have 
come  before,  because  he  is  a  fool.  A  worldly-wise 
man  is  easily  entrapped  by  the  snares  of  the  flower 
girls,  but  Parsifal's  guilelessness  protects  him,  and 
when  the  flower  girls  cluster  around  him  he  innocently 
asks,  "Are  you  flowers?  You  smell  so  sweet. " 
Against  him  the  superior  wiles  of  Kundry  are  neces- 
sary, and  though  she  pleads,  protests  and  rebels,  she 
is  forced  to  tempt  Parsifal,  and  to  that  end  she  ap- 
pears as  a  woman  of  superb  beauty,  calling  Parsifal 
by  name.  That  name  stirs  in  his  breast  memories  of 
his  childhood,  his  mother's  love,  and  Kundry  beckons 
him  to  her  side  and  commences  to  subtly  work  upon 
his  feelings  by  recalling  to  his  memory  visions  of  his 
mother 's  love  and  the  sorrow  she  felt  at  his  departure, 
which  ended  her  life.  Then  she  tells  him  of  the  other 
love,  which  may  .compensate  him,  of  the  love  of  man 
for  woman,  and  at  last  imprints  upon  his  lips  a  long, 
fervent  and  passionate  kiss. 

Then  there  was  silence,  deep  and  terrible,  as  if  the 
destiny  of  the  whole  world  hung  in  the  balance  at  that 
fervent  kiss,  and  as  she  holds  him  in  her  arms  his 
face  undergoes  a  gradual  change  and  becomes  drawn 


64  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

with  pain.  Suddenly  he  springs  up  as  if  that  kiss  had 
stung  his  being  into  a  new  pain,  the  lines  on  his  pallid 
face  become  more  intense,  and  both  hands  are  clasped 
tightly  against  his  throbbing  heart  as  if  to  stifle  some 
awful  agony — the  Grail  cup  appears  before  his  vision, 
and  then  Amf ortas  in  the  same  dreadful  agony,  and  at 
last  he  cries  out:  "  Amf  ortas,  Oh,  Amf  ortas!  I  know 
it  now — the  spear  wound  in  thy  side — it  burns  my 
heart,  it  sears  my  very  soul.  *  *  *  0  grief!  0 
misery!  Anguish  beyond  words!  the  wound  is  bleed- 
ing here  in  my  OWTL  side ! ' ' 

Then  again,  in  the  same  awful  strain:  "Nay,  this  is 
not  the  spear  wound  in  my  side,  for  this  is  fire  and 
flame  within  my  heart  that  sways  my  senses  in  delir- 
ium, the  awful  madness  of  tormenting  love.  *  *  * 
Now  do  I  know  how  all  the  world  is  stirred,  tossed, 
convulsed  and  often  lost  in  shame  by  the  terrific  pas- 
sions of  the  heart." 

Kundry  again  tempts  him:  "If  this  one  kiss  has 
brought  you  so  much  knowledge,  how  much  more  will 
be  yours  if  you  yield  to  my  love,  if  only  for  an  hour  ? " 

But  there  is  no  hesitation  now;  Parsifal  has  awak- 
ened; he  knows  right  from  wrong,  and  he  replies: 
"Eternity  were  lost  to  both  of  us  if  I  yielded  to  you 
even  for  one  short  hour ;  but  I  will  save  you  and  also 
deliver  you  from  the  curse  of  passion,  for  the  love 
that  burns  within  you  is  only  sensual,  and  between 
that  and  the  true  love  of  pure  hearts  there  yawns  an 
abyss  like  that  between  heaven  and  hell." 

When  Kundry  at  last   must   confess  herself  foiled 


PARSIFAL:  WAGNER 's  MYSTIC  DRAMA  65 

she  bursts  out  in  great  anger.  She  calls  upon  Klin^sor 
to  help,  and  he  appears  with  the  holy  spear,  which 
he  hurls  against  Parsifal.  But  he  is  pure  and  harm- 
less, so  nothing  can  hurt  him.  The  spear  floats  harm- 
lessly above  his  head.  He  grasps  it,  makes  the  sign  of 
the  cross  with  it  and  Klingsor's  castle  and  magic 
garden  sink  into  ruins. 

The  third  act  opens  on  Good  Friday  many  years 
after.  A  travel  stained  warrier,  clad  in  black  mail, 
enters  the  grounds  of  Mount  Salvat,  where  Gurne- 
manz  lives  in  a  hut.  He  takes  off  his  helmet  and 
places  a  spear  against  a  nearby  rock  and  kneels  down 
in  prayer.  Gurnemanz  coming  in  with  Kundry,  whom 
he  had  just  found  asleep  in  a  thicket,  recognizes  Par- 
sifal with  the  holy  spear  and,  overjoyed,  welcomes 
him,  asking  whence  he  comes. 

He  had  asked  the  same  question  on  Parsifal's  first 
visit  and  the  answer  had  been:  "I  do  not  know." 
But  this  time  it  is  very  different,  for  Parsifal  an- 
swers :  ' '  Through  search  and  suffering  I  came. ' '  The 
first  occasion  depicts  one  of  the  glimpses  the  soul  gets 
of  the  realities  of  the  higher  life,  but  the  second  is  the 
conscious  attainment  to  a  higher  level  of  spiritual  ac- 
tivity by  the  man,  who  has  developed  by  sorrow  and 
suffering,  and  Parsifal  goes  on  to  tell  how  he  was  often 
sorely  beset  by  enemies,  and  might  have  saved  himself 
by  using  the  spear,  but  refrained  because  it  was  an  in- 
strument of  healing  and  not  for  hurt.  The  spear  is 
the  spiritual  power  which  comes  to  the  pure  heart  and 
life,  but  is  only  to~be  used  for  unselfish  purposes;  im- 

5 


66  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

purity  and  passion  cause  its  loss,  as  was  the  case  with 
Amfortas.  Though  the  man  who  possesses  it  may 
upon  occasion  use  it  to  feed  five  thousand  hungry  peo- 
ple he  may  not  turn  a  single  stone  to  bread  to  appease 
his  own  hunger,  and  though  he  may  use  it  to  stay  the 
blood  that  flows  from  the  severed  ear  of  a  captor,  he 
may  not  use  it  to  stay  the  lif eblood  that  flows  from 
his  own  side.  It  was  ever  said  of  such :  ' '  Others  he 
saved;  himself  he  could  not  (or  would  not)  save." 

Parsifal  and  Gurnemanz  go  into  the  Grail  Castle, 
where  Amfortas  is  being  importuned  to  perform  the 
sacred  rite,  but  refuses  in  order  to  save  himself  the 
pain  entailed  in  viewing  the  Holy  Grail;  baring  his 
breast  he  implores  his  followers  to  kill  him.  At  this 
moment  Parsifal  steps  up  to  him  and  touches  the 
wound  with  the  lance,  causing  it  to  heal.  He  dethrones 
Amfortas,  however,  and  takes  to  himself  the  warder- 
ship  of  the  Holy  Grail  and  Sacred  Lance.  Only  those 
who  have  the  most  perfect  unselfishness,  coupled  with 
the  nicest  discrimination,  are  fit  to  have  the  spiritual 
power  symbolized  by  the  spear.  Amfortas  would  have 
used  it  to  attack  and  hurt  an  enemy.  Parsifal  would 
not  even  use  it  in  self-defense.  Therefore  lie  is  able 
to  heal,  while  Amfortas  fell  into  the  pit  he  had  dug 
for  Klingsor. 

In  the  last  act  Kundry,  who  represents  the  lower 
nature,  says  but  one  word:  Service.  She  helps  Par- 
sifal, the  spirit,  to  attain  by  her  perfect  service.  In 
the  first  act  she  went  to  sleep  when  Parsifal  visited 
the  Grail.  At  that  stage  the  spirit  cannot  soar  heaven- 


PARSIFAL:  WAGNER'S  MYSTIC  DRAMA  67 

ward  except  when  the  body  has  been  left  asleep  or 
dies.  But  in  the  last  act  Kundry,  the  body,  goes  to 
the  Grail  Castle  also,  for  it  is  dedicated  to  the  higher 
self,  and  when  the  spirit  as  Parsifal  has  attained  he 
has  reached  the  stage  of  liberation  spoken  of  in  Kevela- 
tion:  "Him  that  overcometh  will  I  make  a  pillar  in 
the  house  of  my  God:  he  shall  go  out  thence  no 
more. ' '  Such  a  one  will  work  for  humanity  from  the 
higher  worlds;  he  needs  no  physical  body  any  more; 
he  is  beyond  the  law  of  rebirth,  and  therefore  Kundry 
dies. 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  in  his  beautiful  poem, ' '  The 
Chambered  Nautilus, ' '  has  embodied  in  verse  this  idea 
of  constant  progression  in  gradually  improving  ve- 
hicles, and  final  liberation.  The  nautilus  builds  its 
spiral  shell  in  chambered  sections,  constantly  leaving 
the  smaller  ones,  which  it  has  outgrown,  for  the  one 
last  built. 

Year  after  year  beheld  the  silent  toil 
That  spread  his  lustrous  coil; 
Still,  as  the  spiral  grew, 
He  left  the  past  year's  dwelling  for  the  new, 
Stole  with  soft  step  its  shining  archway  through, 
Built  up  its  idle  door,' 

Stretched  in  his  last  found   home,   he  knew  the 
old  no  more. 

Thanks  for  the  heavenly  message  brought  by  thee, 
Child  of  the  wandering  sea, 


68  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Cast  from  her  lap  forlorn, 
From  thy  dead  lips  a  clearer  note  is  born 
Than  ever  Titon  blew  from  wreathed  horn ! 
While  en  mine  ear  it  rings, 
Through  the  deep  caves  of  thought  I  hear  a  voice 
that  sings : 

Build  thee  more  stately  mansions,  0  my  soul ! 
As  the  swift  seasons  roll 
Leave  thy  low-vaulted  past, 
Let  each  new  temple,  nobler  than  the  last, 
Shut  thee  from  heaven  with  a  dome  more  vast, 
Till  thou  at  length  art  free, 

Leaving  thine  outgrown  shell  by  life 's  unresting 
seal 


of 


71 


JRittg 


Chapter  VIII 
THE  KHINE  MAIDENS 

REPETITION  is  the  keynote  of  the  vital  body  and 
the  extract  of  the  vital  body  is  the  intellectual 
soul,  which  is  the  pabulum  of  the  life  spirit,  the  true 
Christ  principle  in  man.  As  it  is  the  particular  work 
of  the  western  world  to  evolve  this  Christ  principle, 
to  form  the  Christ  within  that  it  may  shine  through 
the  material  darkness  of  present  time,  reiteration  of 
ideas  is  absolutely  essential.  Unconsciously  the  whole 
world  is  obeying  this  law. 

When  newspapers  start  out  to  inculcate  certain 
ideas  into  the  public  mind,  they  do  not  expect  to  ac- 
complish this  by  a  single  editorial,  no  matter  how 
powerfully  written,  but  by  articles  of  daily  recurrence 
they  gradually  create  the  desired  sentiment  in  the 
public  mind.  The  Bible  has  been  preaching  the  prin- 
ciple of  love  for  two  thousand  years,  Sunday  after 
Sunday,  day  by  day,  from  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
pulpits.  War  has  not  yet  been  abolished,  but  the 
sentiment  in  favor  of  universal  peace  is  growing 
stronger  as  time  passes.  These  sermons  have  had  but 


72  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

a  very  slight  effect  in  so  far  as  the  world  at  large 
is  concerned,  no  matter  how  powerfully  a  particular 
audience  might  be  moved  for  the  time  being;  for  the 
desire  body  is  that  part  of  the  composite  man  which 
was  impressed  at  the  time  and  was  stirred  thereby. 

The  desire  body  is  a  later  acquisition  than  the  vital 
body,  hence  not  so  crystallized,  and,  therefore,  more 
impressionable.  Because  it  is  of  a  finer  texture  than 
the  vital  body,  it  is  less  retentive,  and  the  emotions  so 
easily  generated  are  also  easily  dissipated.  A  very 
small  impact  is  made  upon  the  vital  body  when  ideas 
and  ideals  filter  into  it  through  the  auric  envelope,  but 
whatever  it  gets  from  study,  sermons,  lectures,  or 
reading  is  of  a  more  lasting  nature,  and  many  impacts 
in  the  same  direction  create  impressions  which  are 
powerful  for  good  or  for  ill  according  to  their  nature. 

In  order  that  we  may  benefit  by  this  law  of  cumula- 
tive impacts,  we  take  up  for  study,  another  of  the  great 
soul  myths  which  throws  light  upon  the  mystery  of 
life  and  being  from  a  different  angle,  so  that  we  may 
learn  whence  we  have  come,  why  we  are  here,  and 
whither  we  are  going  more  thoroughly  than  before. 

As  previously  said,  all  myths  are  vehicles  of  spir- 
itual truths  veiled  under  allegory,  symbol,  and  pic- 
ture, and,  therefore,  capable  of  comprehension  with- 
out reason.  As  fairy  stories  are  a  means  of  enlight- 
enment to  children,  so  these  great  myths  were  used 
to  convey  spiritual  truth  to  infant  humanity. 

The  group  spirit  works  upon  animals  through  their 
desire  bodies,  calling  up  pictures  which  give  to  the 


THE  RHINE  MAIDENS  73 

animal  a  feeling  and  a  suggestion  of  what  it  must  do. 
Likewise,  the  allegorical  pictures,  which  are  contained 
in  myths,  laid  the  foundation  in  man  for  his  present 
and  future  development.  Subconsciously  these  myths 
worked  upon  him  and  brought  him  to  the  stage  where 
he  is  today.  Without  that  preparation  he  would  have 
been  unable  to  accomplish  that  work  which  he  is  now 
doing. 

Today  these  myths  are  yet  working  to  prepare  us  for 
the  future,  but  some  are  more  under  their  spell  than 
others.  The  path  of  empire  and  civilization  has  fol- 
lowed the  sun's  course  from  east  to  west,  and  in  the 
etheric  atmosphere  of  the  Pacific  coast  these  mythical 
pictures  have  almost  faded  away,  and  man  is  con- 
tacting spiritual  realities  more  directly.  Further  east, 
particularly  in  Europe,  we  find  still  the  atmosphere 
of  mysticism  brooding  over  the  land.  There,  people 
love  the  ancient  myths  which  speak  to  them  in  a  man- 
ner incomprehensible  to  the  westerner.  The  soul  life 
of  the  people  among  the  fjords  and  f  jelds  of  Norway, 
on  the  heaths  and  moors  of  Scotland,  in  the  deep  re- 
cesses of  the  Black  Forest  of  Germany,  and  among  the 
Alpine  Glaciers,  is  as  deep  and  mystical  today  as  a 
thousand  years  ago.  They  are  in  closer  touch  with 
nature  spirits  and  other  fabled  realities  by  feeling 
than  we  who  have  gone  ahead  upon  the  path  of  aspira- 
tion by  direct  knowledge.  If  we  recall  this  feeling 
and  combine  it  with  our  knowledge,  we  shall  have  at- 
tained an  enormous  advantage.  Let  us,  therefore,  try 
to  assimilate  one  of  the  deepest  mystical  stories  of  the 


74  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

past,  The  Ring  of  the  Niebelung,  the  great  epic  poem 
of  northern  Europe.  It  relates  the  story  of  man,  from 
the  time  when  he  dwelt  in  Atlantis,  until  this  world 
shall  have  come  to  an  end  by  a  great  conflagration 
and  the  Kingdom  of  the  Heavens  shall  have  been  es- 
tablished, as  foretold  in  the  Bible. 

The  Bible  tells  us  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  where  our 
first  parents  dwelt  in  close  touch  with  God,  pure  and 
innocent  as  children.  It  tells  us  how  that  state  of  be- 
ing was  abrogated  and  how  sorrow,  sin,  and  death 
came  into  the  world.  In  ancient  myths,  like  The  Ring 
of  the  Niebelung,  we  are  also  introduced  to  mankind 
living  under  similar  conditions  of  childlike  innocence. 
The  opening  scene  in  this  drama  of  Wagner  represents 
life  under  the  waters  of  the  Rhine  where  the  Rhine 
maidens  swim  about  with  rhythmic  motion  and  a  song 
upon  their  lips,  imitating  the  undulating  swell  of  the 
dancing  waves.  The  waters  are  lighted  by  a  great 
lump  of  lustrous  gold  and  around  this  the  Rhine 
daughters  circle  as  planets  move  about  the  central 
sun ;  for  we  have  here  the  microcosmic  replica  of  the 
macrocosm  where  the  heavenly  bodies  move  around 
the  Central  Light-giver  in  a  majestic  circle  dance. 

The  Rhine  maidens  represent  primitive  humanity 
during  the  time  when  we  dwelt  at  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean  in  the  dense,  foggy  atmosphere  of  Atlantis.  The 
gold,  which  lighted  the  scene  as  the  sun  illuminates 
the  solar  universe,  is  a  representation  of  the  Universal 
Spirit  which  then  brooded  over  mankind.  We  did  not 
then  see  everything  in  clear,  sharp  contours  as  we 


THE  RHINE  MAIDENS  75 

view  objects  around  us  today,  but  our  internal  per- 
ception of  the  soul  qualities  in  others  was  much 
keener  than  it  is  now. 

The  individual  spirit  feels  itself  an  ego  and  desig- 
nates itself  "I"  in  sharp  contradistinction  to  all 
others,  but  this  separative  principle  had  not  entered 
into  the  child  men  of  early  Atlantis.  We  had  no  feel- 
ing of  ''me"  and  "thee";  we  felt  ourselves  as  one 
great  family,  as  children  of  the  divine  Father.  Neither 
were  we  troubled  about  what  we  should  eat  or  drink 
any  more  than  children  now-a-days  are  burdened  with 
the  material  necessities  of  life.  Time  was  to  us  one 
grand  play  and  frolic. 

But  this  state  could  not  continue,  or  there  would 
have  been  no  evolution.  As  the  child  grows  up  to  be- 
come a  man  or  woman  to  take  its  part  in  the  battle  of 
life,  so  also  primitive  mankind  was  destined  to  leave 
its  natal  home  in  the  lowlands  and  ascend  through 
the  waters  of  Atlantis,  when  they  condensed  and 
flooded  the  basins  of  the  earth.  Evolving  humanity 
then  entered  the  aerial  conditions  in  which  we  live 
today  as  told  of  the  ancient  Israelites  wno  went 
through  the  Red  Sea  to  enter  the  Promised  Land,  and 
of  Noah,  who  left  his  native  place  when  the  flood 
waters  descended. 

The  northern  myth  tells  us  the  story  in  another 
way,  but  though  the  angle  of  vision  is  different  the 
main  points  of  the  narrative  bring  out  the  same  es- 
sential ideas.  In  the  Garden  of  Eden  our  first  parents 
did  not  think  for  themselves.  They  obeyed  unques- 


76  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

tioniiigly  whatever  commands  were  given  them  by 
their  divine  leaders,  much  as  a  child  in  early  years 
does  as  its  parents  wish  because  it  has  no  sense  of  self. 
It  lacks  individuality.  This,  according  to  the  Bible 
story,  was  gained  when  Lucifer  imbued  them  with  the 
idea  that  they  might  become  like  the  gods  and  know 
good  and  evil. 

In  the  Teutonic  myth  we  are  told  that  Alberich, 
one  of  these  children  of  the  Mist  (Niebel  is  mist, 
un g  is  child — they  were  thus  called  because  they  lived 
in  the  foggy  atmosphere  of  Atlantis),  coveted  the 
gold  which  shone  with  such  luster  in  the  Rhine.  He 
had  heard  that  whoever  obtained  the  gold  and  formed 
it  into  a  ring  would  thereby  be  enabled  to  conquer  the 
world  and  master  all  others  who  did  not  possess  the 
treasure.  Accordingly,  he  swam  up  to  the  great  rock 
where  the  gold  lay,  seized  it  and  swam  rapidly  towards 
the  surface,  pursued  by  the  Rhine  daughters  who  were 
in  great  distress  at  the  loss  of  this  treasure. 

When  Alberich,  the  thief,  had  reached  the  surface  of 
the  water  he  heard  a  voice  telling  him  that  no  one  could 
form  the  gold  into  a  ring  as  required  to  master  the 
world,  save  by  forswearing  love;  this  he  did  in- 
stantly and  forthwith  commenced  to  rob  the  earth  of 
its  treasure  and  gratify  his  desire  for  wealth  and 
power. 

As  said  before,  the  gold,  as  it  lay  in  its  unformed 
state  upon  the  rock  of  the  Rhine,  represents  the  uni- 
versal spirit  which  is  not  the  exclusive  property  of 
anyone,  and  Alberich  represents  the  foremost  among 


THE  RHINE  MAIDENS  77 

mankind  who  were  impelled  by  the  desire  to  conquer 
new  worlds.  They  first  became  ensouled  by  the  in- 
dwelling spirit  and  emigrated  to  the  highlands  above ; 
but  when  once  in  the  clear  atmosphere  of  Aryana,  the 
world  as  we  know  it,  they  saw  themselves  clearly  and 
distinctly  as  separate  entities.  Each  realized  that  his 
interests  were  different  from  those  of  others ;  that  to 
succeed  and  to  win  the  world  for  himself,  he  must 
stand  alone,  he  must  look  after  his  own  interests  re- 
gardless of  others.  Thus  the  spirit  drew  a  ring  about 
itself  and  all  inside  that  ring  was  "me"  and  "mine," 
a  conception  which  made  him  antagonistic  to  others. 
Hence  in  order  to  form  this  ring  and  keep  a  separate 
center  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  forswear  love.  Thus, 
and  thus  only,  could  he  disregard  the  interests  of 
others  that  he  might  thrive  and  master  the  world. 

Alberich  is  not  alone  in  his  desire  to  draw  a  ring 
around  himself  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  power, 
however.  "As  above  so  below"  and  vice  versa,  says 
the  Hermetic  axiom.  The  gods  are  also  evolving. 
They  also  have  aspirations  for  power — a  desire  to 
draw  a  ring  around  themselves — for  there  is  war  in 
heaven  as  well  as  upon  earth.  Different  cults  seek 
to  master  the  souls  of  men  and  their  limitations  are 
also  symbolized  by  rings. 


78 


Chapter  IX 
THE  KING  OF  THE  GODS 

BY  appropriating  a  part  of  the  Rhinegold,  repre- 
senting the  universal  spirit  and  forming  it  into 
a  ring  symbolical  of  the  fact  that  it  (the  spirit),  has 
neither  beginning  nor  end,  the  ego  came  into  existence 
as  a  separate  entity.  Within  the  confines  of  this  auric 
ring  it  is  supreme  ruler,  self-sufficient,  and  resents 
encroachment  upon  its  domain.  Thus,  it  placed  itself 
beyond  the  pale  of  fellowship.  Like  the  prodigal  sen, 
it  wandered  far  from  the  Father,  but  even  before  it 
realized  that  it  was  feeding  upon  the  husks  of  matter, 
religion  stepped  in  to  guide  it  back  to  its  eternal 
home,  to  free  it  from  the  illusion  and  delusion  inci- 
dental to  material  existence,  to  redeem  it  from  the 
death  incurred  in  this  phase  of  the  dense  embodiment, 
and  to  show  it  the  way  to  truth  and  life  eternal. 

In  the  Teutonic  myth,  the  warders  of  religion  are 
represented  as  gods.  Chief  among  them  is  Wotan, 
who  is  identical  with  the  Latin  Mercury,  and  Wotans- 
day  or  Wednesday,  is  still  named  in  his  honor,  Freya, 


THE  RING  OF  THE  GODS  79 

the  Venus  of  Norway,  was  goddess  of  beauty,  who  fed 
the  other  gods  on  the  golden  apples  which  preserved 
their  youth.  Friday  is  her  day.  Thor,  the  Jupiter 
of  the  Norsemen,  is  said  to  drive  his  car  over  the 
heavens  and  the  noise  then  heard  is  the  thunder,  and 
the  lightning  the  sparks  that  fly  from  his  hammer 
when  he  strikes  at  his  enemies.  Loge  is  the  name  of 
the  god  of  Saturday.  (Lorday  in  Scandinavian,  a 
derivation  from  lue,  the  Scandinavian  name  for 
flame.)  He  is  really  not  one  of  the  gods,  but  related 
to  the  giants  or  nature  forces.  His  flame  is  not  alone 
the  physical  flame,  but  is  also  a  symbol  of  illusion,  and 
he,  himself,  is  the  spirit  of  deceit,  sometimes  currying 
favor  with  the  gods  and  betraying  the  giants,  at  other 
times  deceiving  the  gods  and  helping  the  giants  to 
further  his  own  schemes.  Like  Lucifer,  the  fiery  Mars 
spirit,  he  is  also  a  spirit  of  negation,  but  delights  also 
in  obstructing  life  like  the  cold  Saturn. 

There  is  in  northern  mythology  a  reference  to  the 
still  earlier  cult  wherein  the  deities  of  the  water  were 
worshiped,  but  the  gods  we  mention  superseded  them, 
and  are  said  to  ride  to  the  judgment  seat  every  day 
over  a  rainbow  bridge,  Bifrost.  Thus,  we  see  that 
this  religion  dates  from  the  dawn  of  the  present  epoch, 
when  mankind  had  emerged  from  the  waters  of  At- 
lantis into  the  clear  atmosphere  of  Aryana — in  which 
we  are  now  living — and  where  they  saw  the  rainbow 
for  the  first  time. 

It  was  said  to  Noah,  when  he  led  primitive  mankind 
out  of  the  Flood  that  so  long  as  the  sign  of  the  rain- 


80  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

bow  remained  in  the  clouds,  the  alternating  cycles  of 
summer  and  winter,  night  and  day,  should  not  cease, 
and  the  northern  myth  also  shows  us  the  gods  gathered 
at  the  rainbow  bridge  in  the  beginning  of  this  era.  It 
and  the  gods  remain  until  the  moment  when  this 
phase  of  our  evolution  is  ended,  an  event  which  will 
be  shown  to  be  identical  with  the  description  given  in 
the  Christian  Apocalypse,  which  the  Scandinavian 
myth  will  materially  help  to  explain. 

Truth  is  universal,  and  unlimited.  It  knows  no 
boundaries,  but  when  the  ego  enveloped  itself  in  a 
ring  of  separate  vehicles  which  segregated  it  from 
others,  this  limitation  made  it  incapable  of  under- 
standing absolute  truth.  Therefore  a  religion  em- 
bodying the  fullness  of  pure  truth  would  have  been 
incomprehensible  to  mankind  and  unsuited  to  help 
them.  Hence,  as  a  child  who  goes  to  school  and  learns 
a  few  elementary  lessons  the  first  year  to  prepare  it 
for  more  complicated  problems  later,  so  .  humanity 
were  given  religions  of  the  most  primitive  nature  to 
educate  them  to  something  higher  by  easy  stages. 

Thus  the  warders  of  religion,  the  gods,  are  repre- 
sented as  desirous  of  building  a  walled  fortress  so  that 
they  may  entrench  themselves  behind  that  wall  and 
focalize  their  powers  against  the  other  faith.  The 
spirit  cannot  be  limited  without  enmeshing  itself  in 
materiality ;  therefore,  the  gods,  on  the  advice  of  Loge, 
the  spirit  of  deceit  and  delusion,  makes  a  bargain  with 
the  giants,  Fafner,  and  Fasolt,  (representing  selfish- 
ness), to  build  the  wall  of  limitation.  When  that  wall 


THE  RING  OF  THE  GODS  81 

surrounds  the  gods  they  have  lost  the  universal  light 
and  knowledge ;  therefore,  the  myth  tells  us  that  part 
of  their  payment  to  the  builders  of  Valhal  was  to  be 
the  sun  and  moon. 

Furthermore,  when  religion  has  thus  limited  itself 
behind  the  wall  of  creed,  the  spirit  of  decay  is  intro- 
duced; it  waxes  old  as  a  garment,  and,  therefore,  it 
is  also  said  that  Wotan  (wisdom  or  reason),  agreed  to 
give  the  giants,  Freya,  the  goddess  of  beauty,  who  fed 
the  gods  on  her  golden  apples  to  preserve  their  youth. 
Thus,  by  listening  to  advice  from  Loge,  the  spirit  of 
deceit,  the  gods  have  sacrificed  their  light,  their 
knowledge,  and  their  hope  of  eternal  youth  and  use- 
fulness. Still,  as  already  said,  this  was  in  a  manner 
necessary,  for  mankind  could  not  have  grasped  truth 
in  its  fullness  then:  we  cannot  understand  it  even 
now. 

The  spiritual  power  of  religion  is  symbolized  by  the 
magic  wand  of  Aaron  in  the  Bible,  by  the  magic  spear 
of  Parsifal  in  the  Grail  myth,  and  by  the  spear  of 
Wotan  in  the  story  of  the  Niebelung.  To  bind  the 
bargain  with  the  giants,  magic  characters  were  cut  in 
the  handle  of  the  spear,  which  was  thus  weakened, 
and  in  that  manner  it  is  shown  that  religion  loses  in 
spiritual  power  what  it  gains  in  material  ways  when 
it  makes  a  bargain  with  the  world  rulers  and  panders 
to  the  baser  appetites. 

According  to  the  teaching  of  the  Norsemen,  those 
only  who  died  in  battle  were  entitled  to  be  taken  to 

6 


82  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Valhal.  Wotan  desires  none  but  the  strong  and  the 
mighty  warriors.  Those  who  died  of  illness  or  in 
peace  upon  their  beds  were  condemned  to  the  realm  of 
hell,  the  underworld.  In  this  also  there  is  a  great 
lesson,  for  none  but  the  noble  and  the  fearless  who 
spend  their  days  fighting  the  battle  of  life  to  the  very 
last  breath  are  worthy  of  advancement.  The  shirkers 
who  love  ease  and  peace,  rather  than  the  work  of  the 
world,  are  not  entitled  to  promotion  in  the  school  of 
life.  It  does  not  matter  where  we  work  or  what  the 
line  of  our  experience  may  be,  so  long  as  we  faithfully 
battle  with  the  problems  of  life  as  they  appear  be- 
fore us.  Neither  will  it  suffice  if  we  do  this  for  a 
year  or  two  and  then  lapse  into  inactivity;  we  must 
keep  on  working  and  striving  until  the  day  of  life  is 
done. 

Thus  the  old  Norse  religion  teaches  the  same  les- 
son as  Paul  taught  when  he  counseled  ''patient  per- 
sistence in  well  doing."  Even  if  we  realize  that  we 
have  not  all  truth,  that  we  are  placed  under  limita- 
tions by  separateness — the  egoism  symbolized  by  the 
Ring  of  the  Niebelung  and  by  creed  and  convention 
symbolized  by  the  Ring  of  the  gods,  still  if  we  fill 
our  appointed  niche  to  the  best  of  our  ability  through- 
out our  whole  life  we  shall  be  certain  of  advancement 
in  a  future  age.  "We  shall  see  more  clearly  through 
the  veil  of  egoism  when  we  willingly  live  the  life  where 
we  have  been  placed,  for  the  Recording  Angels  make 
no  mistakes.  They  have  put  us  in  that  place  where 


THE  RING  OF  THE  GODS  83 

we  have  been  given  the  lessons  needed  to  prepare  us 
for  a  greater  sphere  of  usefulness. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  evident  that  the 
creedbound  condition  of  the  various  churches — the  in- 
sistence on  dogma  and  ritual — are  not  unmitigated 
evils,  as  it  may  have  appeared  to  many,  but  in  reality 
the  necessary  outcome  of  the  limitations  incidental  to 
the  material  existence  through  which  the  human  spirit 
is  now  passing,  and  thus  each  class  is  being  properly 
taken  care  of.  It  receives  as  much  truth  as  it  can 
comprehend,  and  as  is  good  for  its  present  develop- 
ment. There  is  no  need  of  worrying  about  anyone. 
No  one  can  or  will  be  lost,  for,  as  in  God  we  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being,  so,  if  one  were  lost,  a  part 
of  the  Divine  Author  of  our  system  would  be  miss- 
ing, an  unthinkable  proposition. 

But  while  a  great  majority  of  mankind  are  thus 
being  taken  care  of  by  the  orthodox  religions,  there 
are  always  a  few  pioneers — some  whose  faculty  of 
intuition  tells  them  of  greater  heights  unsealed,  who 
see  the  sunlight  of  truth  beyond  the  wall  of  creed. 
Their  souls  are  starving  on  the  husks  of  dogmas,  and 
they  long  ardently  for  the  apples  of  youth,  and  love 
sold  by  the  gods  to  the  giants.  Even  the  gods  are 
growing  old  rapidly,  for  no  religion  which  is  devoid 
of  love  can  ever  hope  to  hold  mankind  for  any  length 
of  time.  Therefore,  the  gods  were  forced  to  seek 
again  the  advice  of  Loge,  the  spirit  of  deceit,  hoping 
through  his  wiles  to  extricate  themselves  from  the 
dilemma.  Loge  tells  them  how  Alberich,  the  Niebe- 


84  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

lung,  has  succeeded  in  hoarding  up  an  immense  treas- 
ure by  enslaving  his  brothers.  With  the  consent  of  the 
gods,  he  uses  deceitful  means  to  capture  Alberich  and 
forces  him  to  disgorge  all  his  treasures.  He  then  plays 
upon  the  avaricious  nature  of  the  giants  and  finally 
succeeds  in  ransoming  Freya. 

Thus  the  curse  of  the  King  (egoism  and  selfishness) 
has  tainted  even  tho  gods.  For  the  sake  of  the  Eing 
(power,)  Alberich,  the  Niebelung,  forswore  love.  He 
oppressed  his  brothers  and  ruled  them  with  an  iron 
rod.  Religion,  on  its  side,  forswore  love  by  the  sale 
of  Freya.  It  also  stooped  to  deceit  to  force  the  rulers 
of  the  world  to  pay  tribute  and  when  the  ring  of  the 
Niebelung  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  giants  the  evil 
fate  followed  it,  for  one  brother  slays  the  other  that 
he  may  be  the  sole  possessor  of  the  wealth  of  the 
world. 

The  gods  have  indeed  regained  Freya,  but  she  is 
no  longer  the  pure  goddess  of  love.  She  has  been 
prostituted;  hence,  she  is  but  the  semblance  of  her 
former  self  and  fails  to  satisfy  those  whose  intuition 
sees  deeper  than  the  surface;  such  are  called  Wal- 
sungs  in  the  Scandinavian  myth.  The  first  syllable 
is  the  derivation  of  the  German  word,  walhlen,  to 
choose  or  the  Scandinavian,  vaelge.  The  last  syllable 
means  children.  They  are  children  of  desire  for  free 
will  and  choice,  who  want  to  choose  their  own  path 
and  who  seek  to  follow  their  own  divine  instinct. 


85 


Chapter  X 
THE  VALKUERIE 

4£'T^  HE  Valkuerie  "  is  the  name  of  the  second  part 
JL  of  Wagner's  great  musical  drama,  founded 
upon  the  northern  myth  of  the  Niebelungs,  and  the 
bearers  of  the  name  were  children  of  Wotan,  as  were 
also  the  "Walsungs. 

The  appropriateness  of  this  name  will  be  at  once 
apparent  when  we  understand  that  the  mission 
of  the  Valkuerie  was  to  go  to  battles  whether 
fought  between  two  or  more,  take  the  slain  upon 
their  horses,  and  carry  them  to  Valhal.  Therefore,  a 
battlefield  or  a  place  of  combat  was  called  Valplads, 
the  place  where  Wotan,  the  god,  chose  the  valiant  ones 
who  died  fighting  the  battle  for  truth  (as  they  saw 
it),  to  be  his  companions  in  the  realm  of  bliss  (as  they 
conceived  it).  Brunhilde,  the  spirit  of  truth,  was 
therefore  chief  among  the  Valkueries,  the  leader  of 
her  sisters,  the  other  virtues.  She  was  the  favorite 
daughter  of  the  god  Wotan. 

But  when  the  gods  had  limited  themselves  and  shut 
away  the  universality  of  truth  by  the  ring  of  creed 


86  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

and  dogma — symbolized  by  Valhal — the  Walsungs, 
who  are  truth  seekers  first  and  foremost,  rebelled. 
They  manifest  under  different  aspects  as  shown  by  the 
names  given  them  in  the  northern  myth.  The  root 
of  their  name  is  Sieg,  a  German  word  which  means 
victory,  and  it  is  highly  appropriate,  for  no  matter 
what  odds  are  against  it,  truth  will  win  in  the  end. 

Siegmund,  the  courageous  one,  who  is  impelled  to 
seek  truth  no  matter  what  the  consequences,  may  be 
slain  as  the  result  of  his  audacity.  We  shall  hear  how 
and  why,  presently.  Sieglinda,  his  sister  and  later 
his  wife,  who  has  the  same  inward  urge  but  dares  not 
openly  follow  it,  may  die  in  despair.  She  transmits 
the  hunger  for  the  truth  to  their  offspring  Siegfried, 
he,  who  through  victory  gains  peace,  so  that  what 
one  generation  of  truth  seekers  fails  to  accomplish, 
will  eventually  be  achieved  by  their  descendants,  and 
in  the  end  truth  will  triumph  over  creed  and  stand 
supreme. 

VWe  are  taking  time  by  the  forelock  when  relating 
or  hinting  at  events  which  will  be  unfolded  in  the 
beautiful  tale  before  us,  but  we  cannot  refrain  from 
iterating  and  reiterating  that  glorious  thought,  "For 
now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly. ' '  Though  the  walls 
and  limitations  of  physical  existence  are  about  us  in 
every  direction,  the  time  is  coming  when  "we  shall 
see  and  know  even  as  we  are  known/' 

When  Siegmund,  impelled  by  the  uncontrollable 
desire  for  truth,  leaves  Valhal,  Wotan  is  enraged  and 
in  order  to  put  a  check  on  the  independent  spirit  of 


THE  VALKUERIE  87 

the  Walsungs,  he  orders  the  marriage  of  Sieglinda 
to  Hunding,  who  is  the  spirit  of  convention.  She 
swoons  despairingly  in  his  arms,  for  she  has  not  the 
courage  to  leave  her  ancestors  as  her  brother  had  done. 
Thus  she  is  a  fit  symbol  of  those  who,  though  they 
rebel  in  their  innermost  natures,  are  married  to  the 
conventions  of  the  world  and  are  afraid  to  make  a 
radical  change  from  the  established  code  of  the  church, 
for  fear  of  what  people  will  think  of  them.  Thus, 
though  outraged  in  their  innermost  nature  and 
thwarted  in  their  holiest  ambitions,  they  continue  to 
bear  the  yoke  of  conventionality  and  go  through  the 
established  church  services  for  the  sake  of  appearance. 
In  the  course  of  time,  Siegmund  comes  by  chance  to 
the  house  of  Hunding  and  finds  his  sister  whom  at 
first  he  does  not  know,  but  when  they  have  recognized 
each  other,  he  induces  her  to  flee  with  him.  They  both 
know  that  this  act  of  theirs,  this  outrage  against 
Hunding,  the  spirit  of  convention,  will  not  be  con- 
doned by  the  gods,  and  to  fortify  themselves  in  the 
battle  which  they  know  is  before  them,  they  take  with 
them  a  magical  sword  called  Nothung.  Noth  is  need 
or  distress,  and  ung  as  we  have  already  seen,  means 
child.  Thus  the  sword  is  the  child  of  distress,  the 
courage  of  despair.  This  sword  had  been  buried  to 
the  hilt  in  Yggdrasil  by  no  less  a  person  than  Wotan, 
himself,  against  just  such  an  emergency  as  this.  In 
order  that  we  may  thoroughly  understand  this  beauti- 
ful symbol  and  the  seemingly  paradoxical  conduct  of 
Wotan,  it  will  be  necessary  to  elucidate  the  meaning 


88  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

of  Yggdrasil,  the  World  Ash,  the  tree  of  life  and  be- 
ing, as  explained  in  the  Scandinavian  mythology. 

According  to  their  concept,  this  wonderful  tree 
reached  from  earth  to  heaven.  One  of  its  roots  was  in 
the  underworld  with  Hel,  a  terrible  hag  who  ruled 
over  those  who  had  died  of  disease  and  were  not,  there- 
fore, qualified  to  dwell  with  Wotan  in  Valhal.  They 
represent  the  class  of  people  who  are  indolent  and 
neglect  to  fight  the  battle  of  life  to  the  last.  Hel  has 
three  children,  who  are  closely  akin  to  her  and  are 
always  fighting  the  gods,  who  have  the  welfare  of  man 
at  heart.  They  are  symbols  of  the  elements  which 
make  up  the  material  world  where  death  alone  reigns. 
One  is  the  Midgaard  Serpent,  a  prodigious  monster 
encircling  the  earth  and  biting  its  own  tail:  it  is  the 
ocean.  The  other  is  the  wolf  Fenris,  which  is  so  subtle, 
yet  so  strong,  that  nothing  can  hold  him:  he  repre- 
sents the  atmosphere  surrounding  the  earth  and  the 
winds  which  cannot  be  controlled.  Loge,  with  whom 
we  have  already  become  acquainted,  is  the  spirit  of 
fire,  deceit,  and  illusion.  The  other  root  of  Yggdrasil 
is  with  the  Frost  Giants  in  chaos,  whence  this 
whole  universe  originated.  The  third  root  is  with  the 
gods. 

Under  the  root,  which  is  with  Hel,  the  Serpent, 
Nidhog,  lies  gnawing.  It  is  the  spirit  of  envy  and 
malice  which  is  subversive  of  good :  Nid  means  envy, 
and  hog,  to  fell.  Because  Yggdrasil,  the  tree  of 
life  in  manifestation,  lives  by  love,  envy  and  mal- 
ice would  fell  the  tree  and  bring  it  down  to  death 


THE  VALKUERIE  89 

and  Hel.  But  under  the  root  that  is  with  the  gods, 
is  the  fountain,  Urd,  whence  the  three  Norns,  or 
Fates,  fetch  the  water  of  life — the  spiritual  impetus 
wherewith  to  water  the  tree  and  keep  its  leaves  fresh 
and  green.  The  names  of  these  three  Norns  are  Urd, 
Skuld,  and  Verdande.  Urd  is  from  the  German,  Ur, 
the  past,  primordial,  or  virgin  state  in  relation  to 
man  and  the  universe.  She  spins  upon  her  wheel  the 
thread  of  fate  generated  by  us  in  the  past ;  and  Skuld, 
a  name  signifying  debt,  is  the  second  Norn,  who  repre- 
sents the  present.  To  her,  Urd  delivers  the  thread  of 
fate  of  past  lives  which  we  must  expiate  in  this  em- 
bodiment. It  is  then  given  to  Verdande,  the  third 
Norn,  whose  name  is  a  derivation  of  werdende,  the 
German  word  for  becoming.  She  represents  the  fu- 
ture, and  when  the  thread  of  fate  symbolizing  the  debt 
paid  at  the  present  time  is  handed  to  her,  she  breaks 
it  off  piece  by  piece.  Thus  this  wonderful  symbol 
tells  us  that  when  the  causation  generated  in  past 
lives  has  worked  itself  into  effects  in  this  life,  the  debt 
is  cancelled  for  all  time  to  come. 

The  northern  mythology  further  tells  us  that  be- 
sides these  three  chief  Norns,  there  were  many  others, 
and  that  one  officiated  at  each  birth  and  took  charge 
of  the  destiny  of  the  child  then  born.  We  are  also 
told  that  these  Norns,  or  Fates,  did  not  work  accord- 
ing to  their  own  will  but  were  subject  to  the  dictates 
of  the  invisible  Orlog.  The  name  is  a  corruption  of 
the  word  Ur,  meaning  primordial,  and  log,  law.  Thus 
we  see  the  northern  svmbol  teaches  that  the  Norns 


90  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

were  not  subject  to  the  gods,  and  that  our  destiny  is 
not  ruled  by  caprice  but  by  an  inexorable  law  of  na- 
ture, the  law  of  cause  and  effect. 

Under  the  third  root,  which  was  with  the  Frost 
Giants,  was  the  well  of  Mime.  The  Frost  Giants,  or 
nature  forces,  had  existed  prior  to  the  establishment 
of  the  earth.  They  had  helped  in  its  formation  and, 
therefore,  knew  many  things  which  were  hidden  from 
the  gods.  Therefore,  even  Wotan,  the  god  of  wis- 
dom, was  wont  to  go  to  the  well  of  Mime  to  drink 
therefrom,  that  he  might  receive  a  knowledge  of  the 
past.  He  also  had  to  drink  from  the  fountain  of  Urd 
that  he  might  renew  his  life. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  Hierarchies,  who  help  us  to 
evolve,  are  themselves  living  to  learn;  and  the  very 
fact  that  they  are  learning  shows  their  liability  to 
err,  and,  also  the  reason  why  Wotan,  their  chief, 
should  provide  the  sword,  Nothung — the  courage  of 
despair — so  that  in  an  emergency  those  against  whom 
he  erred  might  have  a  weapon  wherewith  to  defend 
themselves.  Much  more  might  be  said  about  this 
wonderful  World  Ash,  the  Yggdrasil,  but  the  student 
has  now  sufficient  information  to  enable  him  to  under- 
stand the  relation  of  the  sword  to  that  which  follows. 

When  Siegmund  and  Sieglinda,  fortified  with  tho 
magic  sword — tjie  courage  of  despair — leave  the  house 
of  Hunding,  the  spirit  of  convention,  to  seek  truth  in 
the  wide  world,  the  outraged  Hunding  needs  not  the 
command  of  Wotan  to  pursue  them  with  intent  to 
kill.  Wotan  bids  Brunhilde,  the  Valkuerie,  to  be  in- 


THE  VALKUERIE  91 

visibly  present  at  the  expected  battle  and  fight  for 
Hunding,  the  spirit  of  conventionality.  But  the  spirit 
of  truth  cannot  fight  against  the  truth  seeker,  so 
Brunhilde  sorrowfully  refuses  to  comply  with  Wotan  's 
orders.  When  Siegmund  meets  Hunding  in  deadly 
combat  and  is  about  to  vanquish  him,  Wotan  inter- 
poses  his  spear,  and  upon  that  the  sword,  Nothung,  is 
shattered  and  Siegmund,  defenseless,  is  killed  by  a 
blow  from  Hunding. 

Thus  truth  is  ever  upon  the  side  of  the  truth  seeker 
in  his  battle  against  the  conventionalities  of  the  church 
and  social  customs.  But  when  the  power  of  religion, 
which  furnished  him  the  courage  of  despair  necessary 
to  stand  up  for  his  convictions,  is  pitted  against  the 
power  of  creed  symbolized  by  the  spear  of  Wotan, 
many  an  earnest  soul  has  been  vanquished,  though 
not  convinced.  Siegmund  may  die,  and  Sieglinda  may 
follow  him  to  the  grave,  broken  hearted,  when,  assisted 
by  Brunhilde  she  has  given  birth  to  Siegfried,  the  vic- 
tor ;  for,  as  already  said,  the  thirst  for  truth  once  felt 
can  never  be  quenched  until  it  has  gained  satisfaction. 

In  the  meantime,  Wotan  powerless  to  abandon  Val- 
hal,  the  ring  of  creed,  is  forced  to  put  away  from  him- 
self Brunhilde,  the  spirit  of  truth,  who  has  disobeyed 
him ;  for  it  is  a  condition  of  creed  that  it  be  autocratic 
and  brook  no  gainsaying.  But  as  all  religions  are  in- 
herently imbued  by  a  spirit  of  love  and  a  sincere  desire 
to  benefit  and  uplift  mankind,  Wotan  feels  an  over- 
whelming sorrow  at  the  step  which  is  necessary  for  the 
continuance  of  the  policy  he  has  adopted,  and  which 


92  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

he  adheres  to  despite  the  heart-rending  pleadings  of 
Brunhilde.  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  part  company  with 
truth,  and  both  feel  this  more  keenly  than  words  can 
express,  when  the  poor  creed  bound  Wotan  must  per- 
force put  Brunhilde  to  sleep,  as  he  says :  "Never  to  be 
wakened,  until  one  shall  come  who  is  more  free  than 
I." 

And  in  that  saying  he  discloses  the  principal  re- 
quirement in  the  quest  of  truth.  ' '  Unless  a  man  leave 
father  and  mother,"  said  Christ,  "he  cannot  become 
my  disciple."  All  limitations  must  have  been  swept 
away  before  we  can  hope  for  success  in  the  quest  of 
truth. 


93 


Chapter  XI 
SIEGFRIED,  THE  TRUTH  SEEKER 

WE  have  seen  that  it  is  necessary  to  set  aside  all 
limitations  of  religion,  family,  environment, 
and  whatever  else  hinders  in  order  to  be  able  to  grasp 
truth,  but  there  is  still  another  great  requirement,  or 
one  which  perhaps  is  comprehended  in  the  first.  We 
cling  to  our  religion,  our  friends,  and  our  families 
through  fear  of  standing  alone.  We  obey  conventions 
because  we  fear  to  follow  the  dictates  of  the  inner 
voice  that  urges  us  on  toward  the  higher  things  which 
are  incomprehensible  to  the  majority;  and  therefore 
in  reality,  fear  is  the  chief  obstacle  which  prevents  us 
from  getting  at  truth  and  living  it. 

This  is  also  shown  in  the  Ring  of  the  Niebelung. 
Wotan  decrees  that  Brunhilde,  the  spirit  of  truth,  is 
to  be  put  to  sleep,  because  he  fears  the  loss  of  his 
power  if  he  retains  her  after  she  has  rebelled  against 
his  limitations  and  refuses  to  shield  Hunding,  the  spirit 
of  convention.  He  pronounces  her  doom  in  sorrow, 
saying  that  she  must  remain  asleep  until  one  more 
free  than  he,  the  god,  shall  waken  her.  ' '  Perfect  love 
casteth  out  all  fear, ' '  and  only  the  fearless  are  free  to 
love  and  to  live  truth.  Therefore,  Brunhilde  is  put  to 


94  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

sleep  on  a  desolate  rock,  and  around  her  burns  for- 
ever a  circle  of  flame  kindled  by  Loge,  the  spirit  of 
delusion.  No  one  but  the  free — the  unfettered  and 
fearless  soul — can  ever  hope  to  penetrate  that  circle 
of  hallucination  (conventionality)  and  live  to  love 
the  reawakened  spirit  of  truth,  ever  lovely  and  young. 

Thus  the  second  part  of  the  mystic  drama  ends 
with  the  abandonment  of  truth,  and  the  triumph  of 
convention.  Creed  is  firmly  established  on  earth. 
Siegmund,  the  truth  seeker,  lies  vanquished  and  dead. 
His  sister-wife,  Sieglinda,  also  has  paid  with  her  life 
for  entering  the  quest  and  it  would  seem  as  if  "Brun- 
hilde  must  sleep  forever.  Now  the  Walsungs  have 
only  one  representative,  the  orphan  child  Siegfried, 
who  was  left  in  the  cave  of  Mime,  the  Niebelung,  by 
the  dying  mother,  Sieglinda. 

In  time,  however,  the  child  grows  up  in  youthful 
vigor,  developing  the  strength  of  a  giant.  Beautiful 
as  a  god,  he  is  a  strange  contrast  to  Mime,  the  ugly 
Niebelung,  a  dwarf  who  claims  to  be  his  father.  This 
Siegfried  can  scarcely  believe,  for  when  he  looks  about 
him  in  the  forest,  he  sees  that  the  nestlings  resemble 
their  parents,  that  the  young  of  all  animals  have  the 
same  characteristics  which  are  found  in  their  pnrents. 
He  alone  is  different  from  the  one  who  claims  him 
as  a  son. 

When  with  prodigious  strength  he  has  caught  a 
bear,  and  leads  it  into  the  cave  of  Mime,  the  latter  is 
almost  paralyzed  with  fear,  an  emotion  utterly  un- 
known to  Siegfried.  Mime,  one  of  the  most  cunning 


SIEGFRIED,  THE  TRUTH  SEEKER  9li 

smiths  among  the  Niebelung,  has  forged  S'Wurd  after 
sword  for  the  use  of  this  young  giant,  but  each  in 
turn  has  been  shattered  by  the  powerful  arm  that 
wielded  it.  Mime  has  indeed  tried  to  weld  the  sword 
Nothung,  the  child  of  distress,  which  was  shattered 
upon  the  spear  of  Wotan  in  the  fatal  fray  between 
Siegmund  and  Hunding.  The  fragments  of  this 
sword  were  brought  by  Sieglinda  to  the  cave  of  Mime, 
but  no  one  who  is  a  coivard  can  either  forge  or  wIcM 
the  sword,  Nothung,  the  courage  of  despair;  there- 
fore, Mime,  despite  all  his  skill,  has  failed  every  time 
he  has  tried.  One  day  when  Siegfried  taunts  him  be- 
cause of  his  inability  to  make  a  sword  that  will  stand, 
Mime  brings  out  the  fragments  of  Nothung,  and  tells 
him  that  if  he  can  weld  it,  it  will  serve  him  well. 
Possessing  that  cardinal  qualification  of  the  truth 
seeker,  fearlessness,  Siegfried  accomplishes  with  un- 
skilled hand  what  Mime  has  failed  to  do.  He  forges 
anew  the  magic  sword  and  is  thus  prepared  for  the 
quest  of  truth  and  knowledge. 

Though  ages  have  passed  since  Alberich,  the  Niebe- 
lung,  was  forced  to  part  with  the  Ring  as  ransom  to 
the  gods,  neither  he  nor  his  tribe  have  forgotten  the 
power  wielded  by  its  possessor.  And  the  longing  to 
regain  the  lost  treasure  is  still  rife  among  all  of  them. 
For  mankind,  being  inherently  spiritual  and  free,  will 
never  be  reconciled  to  the  loss  of  individuality  in- 
sisted upon  under  the  regime  of  the  church.  Though, 
like  Mime,  they  may  be  imbued  with  an  uncontrollable 
fear;  though  they  may  cringe  and  fawn  before  the 


96  MYSTERIES  OP  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

higher  powers,  as  Alberich  fawned  before  Wotan, 
they  always,  whether  subconsciously  or  otherwise,  re- 
member their  spiritual  heritage  and  seek  to  recover 
their  estate  as  free  agents,  unbound  by  creed  or  other 
limitations. 

To  this  end  they  scheme  and  plot  in  the  most  subtle 
manner,  as  symbolized  by  the  aid  Mime  gives  Sieg- 
fried to  forge  anew  the  sword  once  shattered  by 
Wotan.  He  sees  that  the  young  truth  seeker  is  fear- 
less. He  knows  that  Fafner,  one  of  the  giants,  who 
obtained  the  Ring  from  the  gods,  broods  over  his 
treasure  in  the  form  of  a  huge  dragon,  awe  inspiring 
in  the  extreme.  He  can  scarcely  believe  it  possible 
for  anyone  to  vanquish  this  monster,  but  he  believes 
that  if  it  can  be  done,  this  fearless  young  giant,  Sieg- 
fried, is  the  only  one  able  to  accomplish  the  feat.  It 
has,  indeed,  been  said  that  the  one  who  forges  Noth- 
ung,  will  slay  him;  and  Mime  trusts  to  his  cunning 
and  hopes  that  if  Siegfried  kills  the  dragon,  he,  Mime, 
may  be  able  to  obtain  possession  of  the  Ring  of  the 
Niebelung  and  become  the  master  of  the  world. 

There  is  a  very  deep  spiritual  significance  in  this 
tale,  namely,  that  of  the  lower  nature,  plotting  to  use 
the  higher  self  for  its  own  vile  purposes.  Siegfried 
(he,  who  through  victory  gains  peace),  is  the  higher 
self  at  that  stage  of  its  pilgrimage  where  it  has  been 
left  all  alone,  without  kith  or  kin,  where  it  sees  that 
the  shape  of  clay  symbolized  by  Mime  is  not  part  of 
it,  but  of  an  entirely  different  race  and  breed,  where 
it  is  ready  to  continue  its  search  for  truth,  attempted 


SIEGFRIED,  THE  TRUTH  SEEKER  97 

in  previous  lives  as  did  Siegmund  and  Sieglinda,  from 
whom  the  indomitable  courage,  that  knows  neither 
fear  nor  defeat,  has  been  inherited. 

But  though  the  seeking  soul  may  forsake  the  world, 
as  did  Hertzeleide,  the  mother  of  Parsifal,  who  gave 
birth  to  the  truth  seeker  in  a  dense  forest,  and  as 
Sieglinda  who  bore  the  child,  Siegfried,  in  the  cave  of 
Mime,  the  lower  nature  follows,  scheming  to  use  the 
power  of  spirit  for  worldly  ends.  Alas!  how  many 
have  left  the  churches  in  despair  because  of  creed,  as 
Siegmund  left  Wotan;  who  have  gained  a  certain 
knowledge  of  the  higher  things  and  have  then  mis- 
used their  heavenly  powers  of  hypnotism  and  mental 
suggestion,  to  attract  to  themselves  the  goods  of  this 
world,  seeking  rather  the  things  of  earth  which  fetter 
than  the  treasures  of  heaven  which  free  the  soul. 

There  has  never  been  an  age  on  earth  when  this 
part  of  the  great  myth  was  so  generally  enacted  as  it 
is  today.  There  are  many  thousands  of  people  who 
represent  in  themselves,  Siegfried  and  Mime — Dr. 
Jekyl  and  Mr.  Hyde.  They  are  roused  to  a  greater 
or  lesser  realization  of  the  powers  of  the  spirit,  of 
their  divine  nature  and  attributes  as  Siegfried  was, 
but  the  lower  phase  of  their  nature,  Mime,  keeps  on 
scheming  for  material  benefit. 

And  whether  we  call  this  use  of  the  divine  powers, 
Christian,  or  by  an  other  name,  it  is  not  the  science 
of  the  soul.  We  should  be  honest  with  ourselves  and 
recognize  the  fact,  that  He,  who  had  not  a  place 
whereon  to  lay  His  head,  and  who  was  the  very  em- 

7 


98  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

bodiment  of  the  attracting  Christ  power,  refused  to 
use  that  power  for  His  own  benefit.  Even  at  the  point 
of  death  He  refrained,  and  it  was  said  of  Him  that 
others  He  saved,  but  Himself,  He  could  not  (would 
not)  save  because  the  law  of  sacrifice  is  greater  than 
the  law  of  self-preservation:  ''For  what  shall  it 
profit  a  man,  though  he  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  his  own  soul  ? ' ' 

The  moment  we  set  out  upon  the  path  in  earnest, 
the  lower  nature  is  doomed  despite  all  its  efforts  of 
cunning  to  save  itself.  And  when  Mime  plans  to  send 
Siegfried  against  the  dragon,  Fafner,  the  spirit  of  de- 
sire, he  has  in  fact  sealed  his  own  fate ;  for  when  the 
soul  has  conquered  the  desire  for  worldly  possessions, 
we  are  dead  to  the  world,  even  though  we  may  still 
live  here  and  perform  our  work  in  the  world.  We  are 
then  in  the  world,  but  not  of  it. 

Led  by  Mime,  Siegfried  finds  the  giant  Fafner 
guarding  the  cave  where  he  has  hidden  the  hoard  of 
the  Niebelungs.  The  lower  nature  always  urges  the 
higher  to  seek  the  material  wealth  of  the  world,  seek- 
ing, thereby,  to  obtain  standing  and  power  in  society. 
It  is,  alas,  all  too  common,  this  desire  and  thirst  for 
wealth  and  power !  We  are  all  like  Mime,  ready  to 
risk  our  lives  in  the  quest  of  gold.  And  though  Mime 
quakes  at  the  very  thought  of  being  near  the  dreadful 
dragon,  he  keeps  on  plotting,  for  he  knows  that  when 
the  ego,  represented  by  the  Ring  of  the  Niebelung,  is 
so  enmeshed  in  the  snares  of  materiality  that  the  body 
may  be  said  to  own  it,  when  all  its  energies  are  di- 
rected by  the  lower  nature,  there  is  no  limit  to  the 


SIEGFRIED,  THE  TRUTH  SEEKER  99 

power  it  may  attain.  But  Siegfried,  the  fearless  truth 
seeker,  when  he  has  vanquished  the  dragon,  represent- 
ing the  desire  nature,  also  slays  Mime  who  is  em- 
blematic of  the  dense  body. 

Freed  from  the  mortal  coil,  the  spirit  is  able  ta 
understand  the  language  of  nature.  Intuitively  it 
senses  where  truth,  represented  by  Brunhilde,  the 
Valkuerie,  is  hidden,  and  following  this  intuition, 
represented  in  the  myth  by  a  bird,  he  starts  for  the 
fire  girt  rock,  to  wake  and  to  woo  the  sleeping  beauty. 
But  though  we  may,  by  laying  aside  the  physical 
body,  enter  the  realm  where  truth  is  to  be  found,  the 
pathway  is  not  by  any  means  clear ;  for  Wo  tan,  the 
warder  of  creed,  stretches  his  spear  across  the  path  of 
Siegfried,  endeavoring  to  the  last  to  dissuade  or  dis- 
courage the  independent  searcher  for  truth.  How- 
ever, the  power  of  creed,  represented  by  the  spear  of 
Wotan,  was  weakened  when  he  bargained  with  the 
giants ;  in  other  words  when  it  appealed  to  the  lower 
side  of  man 's  nature.  And  in  token  of  this  weakening, 
magic  characters  were  cut  upon  the  shaft  of  the  spear. 
This  is  therefore,  easily  broken  in  twain  at  the  first 
blow  from  Nothung,  the  courage  of  despair. 

When  the  truth  seeker  has  come  to  the  point  here 
described,  he  will  no  longer  allow  himself  to  be 
thwarted  in  his  quest,  whether  the  opposing  power  be 
devils  like  Fafner  or  gods  like  Wotan.  Every  obstacle 
he  removes  with  ruthless  hand  for  he  has  only  one  de- 
sire in  the  world,  an  overweaning  craving  to  know 
truth.  Therefore,  after  shattering  the  spear  of  Wotan, 


100  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

he  presses  onward,  led  by  rhe  bird  of  intuition,  until 
he  comes  to  the  circle  of  flame  hiding  Brunhilde,  the 
sleeping  spirit  of  truth.  Neither  is  he  daunted  at 
sight  of  Loge's  flames  of  illusion  and  hallucination. 
He  plunges  boldly  through,  and  behold !  there  lies  that 
for  which  he  has  panted  during  many  lives.  He 
stoops,  gathers  Brunhilde  in  his  strong,  yet  tender 
arms,  and  with  a  fervent  kiss  he  awakens  the  spirit 
of  truth  from  her  age  long  sleep. 


Chapter  XII 
THE  BATTLE  OF  TRUTH  AND  EEROB 

THERE  are  no  words  adequate  to  convey  a  concep- 
tion of  what  the  soul  feels  when  it  stands  in  that 
presence,  far  above  this  world  (where  the  veil  of 
flesh  hides  the  living  realities  under  a  mask)  also,  be- 
yond the  world  of  desire  and  illusion  where  fantastic 
and  illusory  shapes  mislead  us  into  believing  that 
they  are  something  very  different  from  what  they 
are  in  reality.  Only  in  the  Region  of  Concrete 
Thought,  where  the  archetypes  of  all  things  unite  in 
that  grand  celestial  choir  which  Pythagoras  spoke  of 
as  "the  harmony  of  the  spheres,"  do  we  find  truth 
revealed  in  all  its  beauty. 

But  the  spirit  cannot  stay  there  forever.  This  truth 
and  reality — so  ardently  desired  by  everyone  who  has 
been  driven  to  enter  the  quest  by  an  inward  urge 
stronger  than  the  ties  of  friendship,  relationship,  or 
any  other  consideration — is  but  a  means  to  an  end. 
Truth  must  be  brought  down  to  this  realm  of  physical 
form,  in  order  that  it  may  be  of  real  value  in  the 
world's  work.  Therefore  Siegfried,  the  truth  seeker, 
must  of  a  necessity  leave  the  rock  of  Brunhilde,  return 
through  the  fire  of  illusion  and  re-enter  the  material 


MFST^RIES  OP  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 


world  to  be  tempted  and  tried,  to  prove  whether  he 
will  be  true  to  the  vows  of  love  which  pass  between 
himself  and  the  re-awakened  Valkuerie. 

It  is  a  hard  battle  that  is  before  him.  The  world  is 
not  ready  for  truth,  and  however  vehemently  it  may 
protest  its  desire  in  that  direction,  it  schemes  and 
plots,  by  all  means  within  its  great  power,  to  down 
anyone  who  brings  the  truth  to  its  doors;  for  there 
are  few  institutions  that  can  bear  the  dazzling  bright- 
ness of  its  light. 

Not  even  the  gods  can  endure  it,  as  Brunhilde 
knows  to  her  sorrow,  for  was  she  not  exiled  by  "Wotan, 
because  she  refused  to  use  her  power  on  the  side  of 
convention!  And  anyone  who  steps  upon  conven- 
tionalities, to  uphold  truth,  will  find  that  the  whole 
world  is  against  him  and  that  he  must  stand  alone. 
Wotan  was  her  father  and  he  professed  to  love  her 
dearly.  Yes,  he  did  love  her  in  his  way,  but  he  loved 
the  power  symbolized  by  Valhal  more.  The  King  of 
Creed,  whereby  he  dominated  humanity,  was  more  de- 
sirable, in  his  eyes,  than  Brunhilde,  the  spirit  of 
truth  ;  so  he  put  her  to  sleep  behind  the  circle  flame 
of  illusion. 

If  such  be  the  attitude  of  the  gods,  what  then  may 
be  expected  from  men  who  do  not  profess  such  high 
and  noble  ideals  as  the  gods,  the  keepers  of  religion, 
were  supposed  to  inculcate  into  them?  All  this  and 
more  than  we  can  put  into  words  —  much  that  it  will 
do  the  student  good  to  meditate  upon  —  flashed  upon 
the  mind  of  Brunhilde  in  the  moment  of  her  parting 


THE  BATTLE  OF  TRUTH  AND  ERROR  103 

from  Siegfried,  and,  in  order  to  give  him  at  least  a 
chance  in  the  battle  of  life,  she  magnetizes,  as  it  were, 
his  whole  body  to  make  him  invulnerable.  Every  place 
is  thus  protected  save  one  point  on  the  back  between 
the  shoulders.  Here  we  have  a  case  analagous  to  that 
of  Achilles,  whose  body  was  made  invulnerable  in  all 
places  save  one  of  his  heels.  There  is  a  great  signifi- 
cance in  this  fact;  for  as  long  as  the  soldier  cf  truth 
vcars  this  armour,  of  which  Paul  speaks,  in  the  battle 
of  life,  and  boldly  faces  his  enemies,  it  is  certain  that, 
however  hard  he  is  beset,  eventually  he  will  win.  Be- 
cause, by  facing  tlio  woii.l  and  baring  his  breast  to 
the  arrows  of  antagonism,  calumny,  and  slander,  he 
shows  that  he  has  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  and 
a  power  higher  than  he.  the  power  that  is  always 
working  for  good,  protects  him  no  matter  how  great 
the  onslaught  he  faces.  But  woe  be  unto  him,  if  at  any 
time  he  turns  his  back!  Then,  when  he  is  not  watch- 
ing the  onslaught  of  the  enemies  of  truth,  they  will 
find  the  vulnerable  spot,  be  it  in  the  heel  or  'twixt 
the  shoulders.  Therefore,  it  behooves  us  and  everyone 
else  who  loves  truth,  to  take  a  lesson  from  this  won- 
derful symbology,  and  to  realize  our  responsibility 
to  always  love  truth  above  everything.  Friendship, 
relationship,  and  all  other  considerations  should  have 
no  weight  with  us  compared  with  this  one  great  work 
with  truth  and  for  truth.  Christ,  who  was  the  very 
embodiment  of  truth,  said  to  His  disciples,  "They 
have  hated  me,  and  they  will  hate  you. ' ' 


104  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

So  let  us  not  deceive  ourselves :  The  path  of  prin- 
ciple is  a  rugged  road,  and  strenuous  is  the  labor  of 
climbing.  On  the  way  we  shall  probably  lose  caste 
with  everyone  near  and  dear  to  us.  Though  the 
world  now  professes  to  grant  religious  freedom,  the 
day  of  persecution  has  not  yet  ended.  Creed  and  dog- 
matism are  still  in  power,  ready  to  prosecute  and  per- 
secute anyone  who  does  not  go  along  the  conventional 
lines.  But  so  long  as  we  face  them  and  pursue  our 
path  regardless  of  criticism  truth  will  always  come  out 
unscathed  from  the  battle.  It  is  only  when  we  show 
ourselves  to  be  cowards  and  cravens,  that  these  inimi- 
cal forces  can  give  us  our  death  blow  through  this 
vulnerable  spot. 

Another  point :  when  Siegfried  starts  out  from  the 
rock  of  the  Valkuerie  to  re-enter  the  world,  he  gives 
to  Brunhilde  the  Ring  of  the  Niebelung.  This  ring,  as 
you  remember,  was  formed  from  the  Rhinegold,  repre- 
senting the  Universal  Spirit,  by  Alberich  the  Niebe- 
lung. And  we  also  remember  that  he  could  not  shape 
this  nugget  until  he  had  forsworn  love ;  for  friendship 
and  love  ceased  when  the  Universal  Spirit  was  sur- 
rounded by  the  ring  of  egoism.  From  that  time  the 
battle  of  life  has  been  waged  in  all  its  fierceness: 
every  man's  hand  being  against  his  brother  because 
of  his  egoism,  which  impels  each  to  seek  his  own,  re- 
gardless of  the  welfare  of  others. 

But  when  the  spirit  has  found  truth  and  has  come 
in  contact  with  the  divine  realities,  when  it  has  en- 
tered the  Region  of  Concrete  Thought,  which  is  heaven, 


THE  BATTLE  OF  TRUTH  AND  ERROR  105 

and  has  seen  that  one  great  verity — that  all  things  are 
one  and  that  though  they  may  seem  seperate  here, 
there  is  an  invisible  thread  uniting  each  with  all, 
when  the  spirit  has  thus  regained  universality  and 
love,  it  cannot  be  separate  any  longer.  So,  when  it 
leaves  the  realm  of  truth,  it  leaves  behind  the  feeling 
of  separateness  and  self,  symbolized  by  the  ring.  Thus 
it  becomes  universal  in  its  nature.  It  knows  neither 
kin  nor  country,  but  feels  like  the  much  misunder- 
stood Thomas  Payne,  when  he  said,  ' '  The  world  is  my 
country ;  to  do  good  is  my  religion. ' '  This  attitude  of 
mind  is  allegorically  represented  when  Siegfried  gives 
to  Brunhilde  the  King  of  the  Niebelung. 

As  you  will  remember,  the  Valkueries  were  daught- 
ers of  Wotan,  the  chief  god  of  the  Norse  mythology. 
They  rode  through  the  air  on  horses  at  great  speed,  to 
any  place  where  deadly  combat,  whether  between  two 
or  a  greater  number,  was  in  progress.  As  soon  as  a 
warrior  fell  dead  they  lifted  him  tenderly  to  their 
saddles  and  carried  him  to  Valhal,  the  abode  of  the 
gods,  where  he  was  resuscitated  and  lived  in  bliss 
forever  after.  You  remember,  also,  that  the  name 
Valkuerie  was  interpreted  as — chosen  by  acclamation. 
Those  who  fought  the  battle  of  life  to  the  very  end 
were  chosen  by  acclamation  to  be  the  companions  of 
the  gods. 

Brunhilde  was  chief  of  these  daughters  of  Wotan, 
and  her  horse  Grane,  was  the  swiftest  of  the  steeds. 
This  animal,  which  had  thus  faithfully  carried  the 
spirit  of  truth,  she  gave  to  her  husband ;  for  truth 


106  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

may  ever  be  considered  the  bride  of  the  one  who  has 
found  it.  The  horse,  therefore,  is  symbolical  of  the 
swiftness  and  decision  wherewith  one  who  has  married 
truth  is  able  to  choose  aright  and  discern  truth  from 
error — only,  provided  he  remains  faithful. 

Thus  with  the  love  of  truth  in  his  heart,  and  mount- 
ed upon  the  steed  of  discernment,  Siegfried  starts  out 
to  fight  the  battle  of  truth  and  bring  the  world  captive 
to  the  feet  of  Brunhilde.  Heaven  and  earth  hang  in 
the  balance,  for  he  may  revoluntionize  the  world  if 
he  is  faithful  and  courageous;  but  if  he  forgets  his 
mission  and  becomes  enmeshed  in  the  sphere  of  illu- 
sion, the  last  hope  of  redeeming  the  world  is  gone. 
The  twilight  of  the  gods  is  close  at  hand,  when  the 
present  order  of  things  shall  be  done  away,  when  the 
heavens  shall  melt  in  the  fiery  heat  so  that  out  of  the 
travail  of  nature  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  may 
be  born,  wherein  righteousness  as  a  garment  shall 
clothe  all  and  everything. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  eyes  from  heaven,  from  Sieg- 
fried and  Brunhilde,  to  earth,  where  the  world, 
which  the  truth  is  to  set  free,  waits  for  the  coming 
hero.  The  northern  myth  introduces  us  to  the  court 
of  Gunther,  a  king  honest  and  upright  according 
to  the  standards  of  the  world.  Gutrune,  his  sister,  is 
the  highest  lady  in  the  land,  her  brother  being  unmar- 
ried. Among  the  courtiers  there  is  Hagen,  a  name 
which  means  hook,  signifying  inherent  selfishness.  He 
is  scion  of  the  Niebelungs,  related  to  Alberich  who 
formed  the  fatal  ring.  Ever  since  the  days  when  that 


THE  BATTLE  OF  TRUTH  AND  ERROR  107 

ring  passed  out  of  their  possession,  the  Niebehings 
have  kept  close  watch  upon  its  possessors:  first, 
Wotan,  who  tricked  Alberich  and  robbed  him  of  the 
ring,  then  Fafner  and  Fasolt,  the  giants  who  had  built 
Valhal  for  Wotan,  and  who  forced  him  to  give  them 
the  ring  in  part  payment  to  ransom  Freya,  the  goddess 
of  love  and  youth,  whom  Wotan  had  prostituted  and 
sold  for  the  sake  of  power:  then  when  Fafner  slew 
Fasolt,  the  Niebelungs  watched  closely  the  cave  where 
Fafner  lay  concealed,  brooding  over  the  hoard  of  the 
Niebelung  as  a  huge  dragon.  And  Mime,  the  foster 
father  of  Siegfried,  paid  with  his  life  for  scheming 
to  obtain  possession  of  the  coveted  treasure.  Nor 
was  Siegfried  safe  from  their  vigilant  watch,  save 
when  he  was  at  the  rock  of  the  Valkuerie;  for  no 
Niebelung,  nor  one  who  is  a  cur  or  coward,  can  ever 
penetrate  beyond  the  circle  flame  of  illusion  into  the 
realm  of  truth.  Therefore,  the  Niebelungs  do  not 
know  what  has  become  of  the  ring  when  Siegfried 
emerges  anew  into  the  world,  though,  of  course,  they 
surmise  that  it  has  been  left  with  Brunhilde,  and  in- 
stantly commence  plotting  how  to  obtain  it. 

The  court  of  Gunther  lies  directly  in  the  path  of 
Siegfried,  and  Alberich  speeds  ahead  and  informs 
Hagen  that  the  last  known  possessor  of  the  ring  is 
coming.  Together,  they  scheme  how  to  find  out  its 
whereabouts  and  obtain  possession,  but  each  in  his 
black  heart,  also  plots  how  to  outwit  the  other  and  ob- 
tain the  treasure  for  himself  alone;  for  there  is  no 
honor  in  the  battle  of  the  separate  self ;  each  is  against 


108  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

all  others  regardless  of  who  they  are.  Though  in  the 
world  we  find  co-operation  for  a  common  purpose,  the 
question  that  is  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  every  one 
who  participates  is :  What  can  I  get  out  of  it  ?  Unless 
this  is  plain  and  a  personal  reward  is  in  sight,  the 
great  majority  of  mankind  are  unwilling  to  work.  The 
apostle  tells  us,  ' '  not  to  be  concerned  with  the  things 
for  self  alone,  but  also,  to  be  mindful  of  the  things  of 
others."  And  we  have  given  intellectual  assent  in  the 
Christian  countries,  but,  alas !  how  few  are  willing  to 
live  up  to  the  ideal  of  unselfish  service. 


109 


Chapter  XIII 
REBIRTH,  AND  THE  LETHAL  DRINK 

1 '  Birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting. 

The  soul  that  rises  with  us,  our  life 's  star, 

Has  elsewhere  had  its  setting, 

And  cometh  from  afar."  — Wordsworth. 

WHEN  Siegfried  leaves  the  rock  of  the  Valkuerie 
and  reaches  the  worldly  court  of  Gunther,  he 
is  given  a  drink   calculated   to  make  him  forget   all 
about  his  past  life  and  Brunhilde,  the  spirit  of  truth 
whom  he  had  won  for  his  very  own. 

It  is  usually  supposed  that  the  doctrine  of  rebirth 
is  taught  only  in  the  ancient  religions  of  the  Orient, 
but  a  study  of  the  Scandinavian  mythology  will  soon 
rout  that  misconception.  Indeed,  they  believed  in 
both  rebirth  and  the  law  of  cause  and  effect  as  applied 
to  moral  conduct,  until  Christianity  clouded  these 
doctrines,  for  reasons  given  in  The  Rosicrucian  Cos- 
mo-Conception (page  167).  And  it  is  curious  to  read 
of  the  confusion  caused  when  the  ancient  religion  of 
Wotan  was  being  superseded  by  Christianity.  Men 
believed  in  rebirth  in  their  hearts,  but  repudiated  it 


110  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

outwardly,  as  the  following  story  told  of  Saint  Olaf, 
King  of  Norway,  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  zealous 
converts  to  Christianity,  will  show:  When  Asta,  the 
Queen  of  King  Harold,  was  in  labor  but  could  not 
bring  to  birth,  a  man  came  to  the  court  with  some 
jewels,  of  which  he  gave  the  following  account :  King 
Olaf  Geirstad,  who  had  reigned  in  Norway  many 
years  before  and  was  the  direct  ancestor  of  Harold,  had 
appeared  to  him  in  a  dream  and  directed  him  to  open 
the  great  earth-mound  in  which  his  body  lay,  and  hav- 
ing severed  it  from  the  head  with  a  sword,  to  convey 
certain  jewels,  which  he  would  find  in  the  coffin,  to 
the  queen,  whose  pains  would  then  cease.  The  jewels 
were  taken  into  the  queen's  chamber,  and  soon  after 
she  was  delivered  of  a  male  child,  whom  they  named 
Olaf.  It  was  the  general  belief  that  the  spirit  of  Olaf 
Geirstad  had  passed  into  the  body  of  the  child,  who 
was  named  after  him. 

Many  years  after,  when  Olaf  had  become  King  of 
Norway,  and  had  embraced  Christianity,  he  rode  one 
day,  as  he  often  did,  by  the  mound  where  his  ancestor 
lay,  and  a  courtier,who  was  with  him  at  the  time  asked, 

"Is  it  true,  my  lord,  that  you  once  lay  in  this 
mound  ? ' ' 

"Never,"  replied  the  king,  "has  my  spirit  in- 
habited two  bodies." 

"Yet,  it  has  been  reported  that  you  have  been 
heard  to  say,  on  passing  this  mound,  'Here  was  I. 
Here  Hived.'" 


REBIRTH,  AND  THE  LETHAL  DRINK  111 

"I  have  never  so  said,"  returned  the  king,  "and 
never  will  I  say  so." 

He  was  much  discomfited,  and  rode  hastily  away, 
presumably  to  avoid  discussion  of  an  inward  convic- 
tion which  all  the  dogmas  of  the  new  faith  could  not 
eradicate. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  ancient  people,  whether  in 
the  East  or  in  the  West,  knew  much  about  birth  and 
death  which  has  been  forgotten  in  modern  times,  be- 
cause second  sight  was  more  prevalent  then.  To  this 
day,  for  instance,  many  peasants  in  Norway  assert 
ability  to  see  the  spirit  passing  out  of  the  body  at 
death,  as  a  long  narrow  white  cloud,  which  is,  of 
course,  the  vital  body ;  and  the  Rosicrucian  teaching — 
that  the  deceased  hover  around  their  earthly  abode 
for  some  time  after  death,  that  they  assume  a  lu- 
minous body  and  are  sorely  afflicted  by  the  grief  of 
dear  ones — was  common  knowledge  among  the  ancient 
Northmen.  When  the  deceased  King  Helge  of  Den- 
mark materialized  to  assuage  the  grief  of  his  widow, 
and  she  exclaimed  in  anguish  "The  dew  of  death  has 
bathed  his  warrior  body, ' '  he  answered : 

"  'Tis  thou,  Sigruna, 

Art  cause  alone, 

That  Helge  is  bathed 

With  dew  of  sorrow. 

Thou  wilt  not  cease  thy  grief, 

Nor  dry  the  bitter  tears. 


112  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Each  bloody  tear 

Falls  on  my  breast, 

Icy  cold.    They  will  not  let  me  rest. ' ' 

Students,  when  they  realize  the  fact  of  rebirth,  gen- 
erally wonder  why  the  memory  of  past  lives  is  blotted 
out,  and  many  are  filled  with  an  almost  overpowering 
desire  to  know  the  past.  They  cannot  understand  the 
benefit  derived  from  the  lethal  drink  of  forgetfulness, 
and  they  look  with  envy  at  people  who  claim  to  know 
their  past  lives— when  they  claim  to  have  been  kings, 
queens,  philosophers,  priests,  et  cetera.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  most  beneficent  purpose  in  this  forgetfulness, 
for  no  experience  is  of  value  in  life  except  for  the  im- 
press which  it  leaves  by  the  purgatorial  or  heavenly 
postmortem  experience.  This  impress  then  acts  in 
such  a  manner  that  at  the  proper  time  it  directs, 
warns,  or  urges  a  certain  line  of  action,  and  this  warn- 
ing, or  urge,  though  dissociated  from  the  experience, 
or  rather  for  the  reason  that  it  is  dissociated  from  the 
experience  wherefrom  it  was  extracted,  acts  with  a 
quickness  greater  than  that  of  thought. 

To  make  this  point  clear  we  may  perhaps  liken  this 
record,  graven  upon  our  subtler  vehicles,  to  a  phono- 
graph record,  which  playing,  will  cause  a  battery  of 
tuning  forks  placed  near  it  to  vibrate  as  each  note  is 
struck.  From  the  outward  point  of  view  there  seems 
to  be  no  reason  why  a  certain  indentation  on  a  phono- 
graphic record  should  correspond  to  a  certain  one  on 
the  tuning  fork,  and  when  the  needle  falls  into  that 


REBIRTH,  AND  THE  LETHAL  DRINK  113 

indentation,  a  definite  sound  should  be  produced 
which  sets  the  tuning  fork  vibrating.  But  whether 
we  understand  it  or  not,  demonstration  shows  that 
there  is  a  tie  of  tone  between  that  little  indenta- 
tion and  the  tuning  fork.  And  this  does  not  depend 
upon  a  knowledge  of  how  the  impress  came  to  be  im- 
printed on  the  record,  or  what  caused  the  tuning  fork 
to  respond  to  that  vibration.  It  is  there,  whether  we 
know  all  the  facts  about  it,  or  not. 

Similarly,  when  we  have  had  a  certain  experience 
in  life,  be  it  joyful  or  the  reverse,  it  is  condensed  in 
the  postmortem  experience,  leaving  an  impress  upon 
the  soul  to  warn,  if  the  experience  is  pugatorial;  to 
urge,  if  heavenly.  And  in  a  later  life,  when  an  ex- 
perience comes  up  similar  to  the  one  which  caused  the 
impress,  the  vibration  is  sensed  by  the  soul;  it  awak- 
ens the  tone  of  pain  or  pleasure,  as  the  case  may  be, 
in  the  record  of  the  past  life,  far  more  speedily  and 
accurately  than  if  the  experience  itself  were  called 
up  before  our  mind's  eye.  For  we  might  not,  even 
at  the  present  time,  be  able  to  see  the  experience  in 
its  true  light  while  we  are  hampered  by  the  veil  of 
flesh,  but  the  fruit  of  the  experience,  gathered  in 
heaven  or  hell,  tells  us  unerringly  whether  to  emulate 
our  past,  or  shun  it. 

Moreover,  supposing  we  did  really  know  our  past 
lives:  that  by  our  present  endeavors  to  live  well  and 
worthily  we  had  acquired  that  faculty.  Supposing 
that  we  had  lived  lives  of  debauchery,  cruelty,  crime, 
and  selfishness!  If  people  now  despised  us  accord- 

8 


114  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

ingly,  we  would  then  hold  that  they  ought  not  to 
judge  us  by  the  past — that  they  were  wrong  in  ostra- 
cizing us.  We  would  contend  that  our  present  life  of 
worthy  endeavor  should  be  made  the  basis  of  judg- 
ment, to  the  exclusion  of  former  conditions,  and  in 
this  we  should  be  perfectly  right.  But  then,  for  the 
same  reason,  why  should  we  claim  honor  in  the  pres- 
ent life,  adulation  or  admiration,  because  in  the  past 
life  we  were  kings  and  queens  ?  Even  if  it  were  true 
that  we  had  held  such  positions,  why  should  we  lay 
ourselves  open  to  the  ridicule  of  skeptics  by  telling 
such  stories?  So,  whether  we  have  memory  of  our 
past  lives  or  not,  it  is  better  to  concentrate  our  efforts 
up  to  the  highest  possibilities  of  today. 

There  is  no  doubt,  that  one  who  is  able  to  search 
the  memory  of  nature,  and  who  does  so  for  the  sake 
of  investigation  in  connection  with  the  progress  and 
evolution  of  man,  will,  at  some  time  or  other,  come 
into  touch  with  glimpses  of  his  or  her  own  past.  But 
a  true  servant  who  really  feels  himself  to  be  a  laborer 
in  the  vineyard  of  Christ,  will  never  allow  himself  to 
swerve  from  the  path  of  service  and  follow  the  trail 
of  curiosity.  The  disciple  who  receives  instructions 
from  the  Elder  Brothers,  is  warned  at  the  first  Initia- 
tion never  to  use  his  powe  rto  gratify  curioisity,  and 
on  all  subsequent  visits  to  the  Temple  this  idea  is 
dinned  into  his  ears. 

The  distinctions  between  the  legitimate  and  illegiti- 
mate use  of  spiritual  powers  are  so  fine  and  so  subtle, 
that,  as  one  grows,  the  restrictions  whereby  one  seems 


REBIRTH,  AND  THE  LETHAL  DRINK  115 

beset,  multiply  to  such  an  extent,  that,  were  the  tale 
told  to  others,  ninety  out  of  a  hundred  would  say: 
"But  what  is  the  use  then  of  having  spiritual  sight 
or  of  being  able  to  leave  the  body?  When  you  are  so 
restricted,  it  seems  that  the  possibility  of  trespassing 
is  multiplied  to  such  an  extent,  that  there  is  scarcely 
any  use  of  having  these  faculties. ' '  Nevertheless,  they 
are  of  great  value,  and  the  responsibility  is  only  the 
natural  result  of  added  growth. 

An  animal  takes  freely  anything  that  it  wishes:  it 
commits  no  sin  and  is  not  held  responsible  for  its 
action,  because  it  knows  no  better.  But  as  soon  as  the 
idea  of  "mine"  and  "thine"  has  been  imprinted 
upon  our  consciousness,  then  also  the  responsibility 
comes.  As  our  knowledge  grows,  so  does  our  responsi- 
bility; and  the  finer  the  soul  qualities,  the  finer  the 
distinctions  between  right  and  wrong.  This  we  ob- 
serve in  in  our  daily  lives  that  the  standards  of 
the  permissible  or  non-permissible  vary  according  to 
the  quality  of  each  individual. 

And  when  we  aspire  to  that  power  whereby  we  may 
know  the  past,  we  shall  find  that  we  are  no  more 
justified  in  using  this  power  for  aggrandizement, 
than  we  would  be  justified  in  using  it  to  obtain 
worldly  wealth  or  power.  So  the  life,  or  the  lives, 
we  have  led  are  hidden  from  us  for  a  purpose,  until 
we  know  how  to  unlock  the  door ;  and  when  we  have 
the  key  we  shall  probably  not  want  to  use  it. 

For  that  reason,  then,  Siegfried  is  given  the  lethal 
drink  the  moment  he  enters  the  court  of  Gunther,  and 


116  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

straightway  he  forgets  about  his  past  life  with  Mime, 
the  dwarf,  who  claimed  him  as  a  son.  He  forgets 
how  he  forged  the  magic  sword,  "the  courage  of 
despair,"  which  stood  him  in  such  good  stead  in  the 
fight  with  Fafner,  the  spirit  of  passion  and  desire.  He 
forgets  that  he  had  thus  won  the  Ring  of  the  Niebe- 
lung,  the  emblem  of  egoism,  whereby  he  gained  knowl- 
eldge  of  his  true  spiritual  identity  and  slew  Mime, 
the  personality,  who  wrongfully  claimed  to  be  his 
progenitor.  He  forgets  how,  as  a  free  spirit  undaunted 
by  fear,  he  broke  the  spear  of  Wotan,  the  warder  of 
creed,  and  followed  the  bird  of  intuition  to  the  abode 
of  the  sleeping  spirit  of  truth.  He  forgets  his  mar- 
riage to  her  and  the  vow  of  unselfishness,  implied 
when  he  gave  her  the  ring. 

But  each  and  everyone  of  these  important  events 
have  left  their  impress  upon  his  soul,  and  now  it  is  to 
be  tested:  whether  that  impress  has  been  deep  or 
superficial.  Temptation  comes  to  us,  life  after  life, 
until  the  treasure  laid  up  in  heaven  has  been  tested 
and  tried  by  temptation  on  earth — whether  or  not  it 
will  withstand  the  moth  of  corruption.  After  the 
baptism,  when  the  Spirit  of  Christ  had  descended  into 
the  fleshy  body  of  Jesus,  it  was  taken  into  the  wilder- 
ness of  temptation  to  prove  its  weakness  or  its 
strength.  And,  similarly,  after  each  heavenly  expe- 
rience we  must  expect  to  be  brought  back  to  earth, 
that  it  may  be  learned  whether  we  shall  stand  or  fall 
in  the  furnace  of  affliction. 


117 


Chapter  XIV 
THE  TWILIGHT  OF  THE  GODS 

WHEN  Siegfried  reaches  the  court  of  Gnnther, 
Gutrune,  the  fair  sister  of  the  king  hands  him 
the  magic  cup  of  forgetfulness.  Forthwith,  he  loses 
memory  of  the  past  and  of  Brunhilde,  the  spirit  of 
truth,  and  stands  a  naked  soul  ready  to  fight 
the  battle  of  life.  But  he  is  armed  with  the  sub- 
limated essence  of  former  experience.  The  sword 
of  Nothung,  the  courage  of  despair,  wherewith  lie 
fought  greed  and  creed  symbolized  by  Fafner, 
the  dragon,  and  Wotan  the  god,  is  still  with 
him;  also  Tarncap,  or  the  helmet  of  illusion,  which 
is  an  apt  symbol  of  what  we  in  modern  times  call 
hypnotic  power,  for  whoever  put  this  magic  cap  on 
his  head  appeared  to  others  in  whatever  shape  he 
desired;  and  he  has  Brunhilde 's  horse  Grane,  dis- 


118  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

cernment,  whereby  he,  himself,  might  always  perceive 
truth  and  distinguish  it  from  error  and  illusion.  He 
still  has  powers  which  he  may  use  for  good  or  evil  ac- 
cording to  choice. 

As  we  have  said  previously,  our  idea  of  what  truth 
is  changes  as  we  progress.  We  are  gradually  climb- 
ing the  mountain  trail  of  evolution,  and  as  we  do 
phases  of  truth  appear  which  we  never  before  per- 
ceived ;  and  what  is  right  at  one  stage,  is  wrong  at  an- 
other. Though,  whenever  we  are  in  the  flesh  we  see 
through  the  veil  of  illusion  symbolized  by  Loge's 
flame  which  encircles  the  rock  of  Brunhilde,  her  sv,  if t 
charger  Grane,  discernment  is  also  with  us ;  and  if  we 
only  give  him  free  rein,  the  material  brain-mind, 
which  is  charged  with  the  lethal  drink  of  forgetful- 
ness,  can  never  gain  the  ascendancy  over  the  spirii:. 

The  early  Atlantean  Epoch,  when  mankind  lived 
as  guileless  "Children  of  the  Mist"  (Niebelung)  in 
the  foggy  basins  of  the  earth,  is  represented  in  the 
Bhinegold.  The  later  Atlantean  time  is  an  age  of 
savagery,  where  mankind  has  forsworn  love,  as  Al- 
berich  did,  and  forms  "the  Ring"  of  egoism,  where  it 
devotes  its  energies  to  material  acquisitions  symbolized 
by  "the  hoard"  of  the  Niebelung,  over  which  giants, 
gods,  and  men  fight  with  savage  brutality  and 
low  cunning,  as  set  forth  in  the  "The  Valkuerie." 

The  early  Aryan  Epoch  marks  the  birth  of  the 
idealist,  symbolized  as  the  "Walsungs"  (Siegmund, 
Sieglinda,  and  Siegfried),  a  new  race  which  aspires 
with  a  sacred  ardor  to  new  and  higher  things — valor- 


THE  TWILIGHT  OF  THE  GODS  119 

ous  knights  who  had  the  courage  of  their  convictions 
and  were  ever  ready  to  fight  for  truth  as  they  saw  it, 
and  to  give  their  lives  as  forfeit  to  uphold  their  heart- 
felt convictions.  Thus  the  age  of  realistic  savagery 
gave  place  to  an  era  of  idealistic  chivalry. 

We  are  now  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Aryan  Epoch. 
The  truth  seekers  of  the  past  have  again  left  the  fire 
girt  rock  of  Brunhilde.  We  have  again  assumed  the 
veil  of  flesh  and  partaken  of  the  lethal  drink,  and  we 
are  today  actually  playing  the  last  part  of  the  great 
epic  drama,  "The  Twilight  of  the  Gods,"  which  is 
identical  in  its  import  with  our  Christian  Apocalypse. 
"The  gospel  of  the  Kingdom"  has  been  preached  to 
us,  "the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life"  has  been 
opened  to  us,  as  it  was  to  Siegfried;  and  we  are  on 
trial  now,  as  he  was  at  Gunther's  court,  to  see  if  we 
will  live  as  "married  to  truth,"  or  whether  we  will 
drag  her  from  her  retreat  and  prostitute  her,  as  Sieg- 
fried did.  In  order  to  gain  the  hand  of  Gutrune,  he 
wrested  the  emblem  of  egoism,  the  Ring  of  the  Niebe- 
lung,  from  Brunhilde 's  hand  and  put  it  on  his  finger 
again ;  he  bound  her  and  carried  her  to  Gunther  to  be 
his  wife;  he  prostituted  her,  and  himself  committed 
adultery  with  Gutrune — for  having  once  married  truth, 
it  is  spiritual  adultery  to  seek  the  honors  of  the  world. 

Heaven  and  earth  are  outraged  at  this  colossal  be- 
trayal of  truth.  The  great  World-Ash,  the  tree  of 
life  and  being,  shakes  at  its  root,  where  Urd,  Skuld, 
and  Verdande,  the  past,  present,  and  future,  spin  the 
thread  of  fate.  It  grows  dark  on  earth;  Hagen's 


120  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

spear  finds  the  only  vulnerable  point  in  Siegfried's 
body — his  life  is  the  forfeit,  and  as  the  highest  ideal 
of  the  age  has  failed,  there  is  no  use  in  perpetuating 
the  existing  order  of  things.  Therefore,  Heimdal,  the 
heavenly  watchman,  sounds  his  trumpet,  and  the  gods 
ride  in  solemn  procession  over  the  rainbow  bridge  for 
the  last  time,  to  meet  the  giants  in  final  battle  involv 
ing  the  destruction  of  heaven  and  earth. 

This  is  a  very  significant  point :  At  the  opening  of 
the  drama  we  find  the  Niebelungen  "at  the  bottom 
of  the  river."  Alberich,  later  forges  "The  Ring" 
in  fire,  which  can  only  burn  in  the  clear  atmosphere 
such  as  we  have  in  the  Aryan  age.  During  this  age 
the  gods  also  hold  their  sacred  councils  at  the  rain- 
bow-bridge, which  is  the  reflection  of  the  heavenly 
fire.  When  Noah  brought  the  original  Semites  through 
"the  Flood,"  he  kindled  the  first  fire.  "The  bow" 
was  then  set  in  the  cloud  to  remain  for  the  age 
and  during  that  time  it  was  covenanted  that  the 
alternating  cycles,  summer  and  winter,  day  and  night, 
et  cetera,  should  not  cease.  In  the  Apocalypse, 
(IV:3),  John  is  offered  instruction  concerning 
"things  which  must  be  hereafter,"  by  "One  having 
a  rainbow  around  Him";  and  later,  (X:l-6)  a  mighty 
angel  with  a  rainbow  on  its  head  solemnly  proclaims 
the  end  of  time.  Thus  it  is  plain  from  the  northern 
myth  and  the  Christian  teaching,  that  the  epoch  began 
when  the  bow  was  set  in  the  cloud;  when  the  bow  is 
removed  the  epoch  will  end  and  a  new  condition  of 
things,  physical  and  spiritual,  be  ushered  in. 


THE  TWILIGHT  OF  THE  GODS  121 

The  other  phenomenon  attending  this  time  of 
trouble  is  set  forth  in  the  ancient  myth.  Loge,  the 
spirit  of  illusion,  has  three  children:  the  Migaard 
Serpent  which  encircles  the  earth,  biting  its  own  tail, 
is  the  ocean  which  refracts  and  distorts  every  object 
immersed  therein.  Men  fear  the  treacherous  element ; 
their  cheeks  have  always  paled  at  the  thought  of  what 
it  may  do  when  unleashed.  The  wolf  Fenris,  the  at- 
mosphere, is  also  a  child  of  illusion  (optical),  and  the 
dread  roar  of  the  tempest  may  strike  fear  into  the 
stoutest  heart.  Hel,  death,  is  the  third  of  Loge 's  chil- 
dren, and  the  " queen  of  terrors."  Before  man  en- 
tered concrete  existence,  as  described  in  the  beginning 
of  the  great  myth  and  in  Genesis,  his  consciousness 
was  focused  in  the  spiritual  worlds  where  the  illusive 
elements,  Loge  (fire),  Fenris  (air),  and  the  Serpent 
(water),  are  nonexistent;  hence,  death  also  was  an 
unknown  quantity.  But  during  the  present  epoch 
when  the  constitution  of  the  human  body  is  subject 
to  the  action  of  the  elements,  death  also  holds  sway. 

At  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  of  Heimdal,  all  the 
factors  of  destruction  press  forward  to  the  plain  Vig- 
rid,  the  counterpart  of  Armageddon,  where  the  gods 
of  creed  and  their  sworn  supporters  have  assembled 
to  make  a  last  stand.  The  sons  of  Muspel  (physical 
fire),  press  forward  from  the  south,  demolishing  the 
rainbow  bridge.  The  Frost  Giants  advance  from  the 
north.  With  an  awful  roar,  Fenris,  the  tempest- 
driven  atmosphere,  rushes  upon  the  earth.  So  terrific 


122  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

is  its  velocity  that  the  friction  generates  fire,  hence  it 
is  said  that  its  lower  jaw  is  upon  the  earth,  its  upper 
reaches  the  sun,  and  fire  streams  from  its  nostrils.  It 
swallows  Wotan,  the  god  in  charge  of  the  age  of  air, 
when  the  bow  was  in  the  cloud.  The  Midgaard  Ser- 
pent or  watery  element  is  vanquished  by  Thor,  the 
god  of  thunder  and  lightning,  but  when  the  electrical 
discharges  have  finally  disposed  of  the  element, 
water,  there  can  be  no  thunder  and  lightning,  hence 
the  northern  myth  informs  us  that  Thor  dies  of  the 
fumes  from  the  Serpent.  In  our  Christian  Apocalypse 
we  also  hear  of  thunders  and  lightnings,  and  are  told 
that  finally  ' '  there  shall  be  no  more  sea. ' ' 

But  as  the  Phoenix  arises  rejuvenated  and  beauti- 
ful from  its  ashes,  so  also  a  new  earth,  fairer  and  more 
ethereal,  was  seen  by  the  ancient  prophetess  to  arise 
from  the  great  conflagration  where  ''the  elements  melt 
with  fervent  heat "— ' '  Gimle, "  she  called  it.  Nor 
was  it  without  population,  for,  while  the  great  con- 
flagration was  in  progress  a  man  and  a  woman  called 
Lif  and  Liftharaser,  (lif  means  life),  were  saved 
and  from  them  springs  a  new  race  which  lives  in  peace 
and  close  to  God. 

"A  hall  I  see, 

More  brilliant  than  the  sun, 

Roofed  with  gold. 

On  the  summit  of  Gimle, 

There  shall  live 


THE  TWILIGHT  OF  THE  GODS  123 

A  virtuous  race, 
And  enjoy  blessedness 
To  eternity. 

''Thither    cometh    the   Mighty   One— all- 
Father, 

To  the  council  of  the  gods, 
In  His  strength  from  above. 
He  who  thinketh  for  all, 
Issueth  judgments; 
He  causeth  strife  to  cease, 
And  establisheth  peace 
To  endure  forever." 

Thus  the  ancient  northern  myth  teaches,  but  from 
a  different  angle,  the  same  truths  as  found  in  greater 
fullness  in  the  Christian  Scriptures  from  Genesis  to 
the  Apocalypse,  and  it  is  important  that  we  should 
realize  the  truth  of  these  tales.  There  are,  alas,  too 
many  in  the  class  described  by  Peter  as  saying: 
" Where  is  the  promise  of  His  coming?  For  since  the 
fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue  as  they  were  in 
the  beginning. ' '  There  are  few  who  realize  the  import 
of  the  statement  in  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis,  that 
"a  mist  went  up  from  the  ground  and  watered  the 
earth  before  it  rained, ' '  and  that  thus  the  children  of 
the  mist  must  have  been  physiologically  different 
from  the  man  of  today  who  breathes  air  since  "the 
Flood,"  when  the  mist  condensed  and  became  the  tea. 
But  just  as  sure  as  these  changes  happened  in  the 


124  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

past,  so  there  is  now  another  change  impending.  True, 
it  may  not  come  in  our  time — ' '  that  hour  knoweth  no 
man  neither  the  angels,  neither  the  Son,"  and  re- 
peatedly the  warning  of  Noah  is  held  up  before  us  in 
this  connection.  In  that  day  they  ate  and  drank, 
married  and  were  given  in  marriage,  but  suddenly 
the  waters  engulfed  them  and  all  who  had  not 
evolved  the  physiological  requisites,  lung*,  necessary 
to  live  in  the  new  condition  perished.  The  Ark  car- 
ried the  pioneers  safely  through  the  catastrophe. 

To  make  the  next  change  safely,  a  wedding  gar- 
ment is  required,  and  it  is  of  utmost  importance  that 
we  should  work  upon  it.  The  same  soma  psuchicon  or 
"soul  body"  which  Paul  mentions  (I  Cor.  XV:  45), 
is  an  etheric  vehicle  of  paramount  importance;  for 
when  the  present  elements  have  been  dissolved  in  the 
impending  change,  how  shall  we  survive  if  we  can 
function  only  in  a  dense  body  as  now ! 

The  Germano-Anglo-Saxon  race  will  of  course  be 
succeeded  by  two  more  before  the  Sixth  Epoch  is  defi- 
nitely ushered  in,  but  today,  and  from  our  stock, 
there  is  being  prepared  the  seed  for  the  New  Age.  It 
is  exactly  the  mission  of  the  Rosicrucian  Order, 
working  through  the  Eosicrucian  Fellowship,  to  pro- 
mulgate a  scientific  method  of  development  suited 
particularly  to  the  Western  people  whereby  this  wed- 
ding garment  may  be  wrought,  so  that  we  may  hasten 
the  day  of  the  Lord. 


•jjjatbulum  of  fog  mth 


127 


Chapter  XV 
THE  PENDULUM  OP  JOY  AND  SORROW 

IN  this  drama  we  deal  again  with  one  of  the  ancient 
legends.  It  was  given  to  humanity  by  the  divine 
Hierarchies  who  guided  us  along  the  path  of  progress 
by  pictorial  terms  so  that  mankind  might  subcon- 
sciously absorb  the  ideals  for  which,  in  later  lives, 
they  were  to  strive. 

In  ancient  times  love  was  brutal;  the  bride  was 
bought  or  stolen  or  taken  as  a  prize  in  war.  Possession 
of  the  body  was  all  that  was  desired,  therefore  woman 
was  a  chattel,  prized  by  man  for  the  pleasure  she  af- 


128  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

forded  him,  and  for  that  only.  The  higher,  finer 
faculties  in  her  nature  were  not  given  a  chance  of  ex- 
pression. This  condition  had  to  be  altered  or  human 
progress  would  have  stopped.  The  apple  always  falls 
close  to  the  tree.  Anyone  born  from  a  union  under 
such  brutal  conditions  must  be  brutal ;  and,  if  man- 
kind were  to  be  elevated,  the  standard  of  love  had  to 
be  raised.  Tannhauser  is  an  attempt  in  that  direc- 
tion. 

This  legend  is  also  called  "The  Tournament  of  the 
Troubadours,"  for  the  minstrels  of  Europe  were  the 
educators  of  the  Middle  Ages.  They  were  wandering 
knights,  gifted  with  the  power  of  speech  and  song, 
who  journeyed  from  land  to  land,  welcomed  and 
honored  in  court  and  castle.  They  had  a  powerful 
influence  in  forming  the  ideas  and  ideals  of  the  day, 
and  in  the  Tournament  of  Song  held  in  Wartburg 
Castle,  one  of  the  problems  of  that  day — whether 
woman  had  a  right  to  her  own  body  or  not,  a  right  to 
protection  against  licentious  abuse  by  her  husband, 
whether  she  was  to  be  considered  a  companion  to  be 
loved  as  soul  to  soul  or  as  a  slave  bound  to  submit  to 
the  dictates  of  her  master — was  the  question  to  be 
decided. 

Naturally,  at  each  change  there  are  always  those 
who  stand  for  the  old  things  against  the  new,  and 
champions  of  both  sides  took  part  in  that  battle  of 
song  in  Wartburg  Castle. 


THE  PENDULUM  OF  JOY  AND  SORROW          129 

The  question  is  still  rife.  It  is  still  unsettled  with 
the  majority  of  mankind,  but  the  principle  enunciated 
is  true,  and  only  as  we  conform  to  this  principle  by 
elevating  the  standards  of  love,  can  a  better  race  be 
born.  This  is  particularly  essential  to  one  who  is 
aiming  to  lead  a  higher  life.  Though  the  principle 
seems  so  self-evident  it  is  not  even  yet  agreed  to  by 
all  who  make  high  professions.  In  time  everyone 
will  learn  that  only  as  we  regard  woman  as  the  equal 
of  man  can  mankind  truly  be  elevated,  for  under  the 
law  of  rebirth  the  soul  is  reborn  alternately  in  both 
sexes,  and  the  oppressors  of  one  age  become  the  op- 
pressed of  the  next. 

The  fallacy  of  a  double  standard  of  conduct  which 
favors  one  sex  at  the  cost  of  the  other  should  be  at 
once  apparent  to  anyone  who  believes  in  the  succes- 
sion of  lives  whereby  the  soul  progresses  from  im- 
potence to  omnipotence.  It  has  been  amply  proved 
that,  far  from  inferior  to  man,  woman  is  at  least  his 
equal  and  very  often  his  superior  in  many  of  the  men- 
tal occupations;  though  that  does  not  appear  plainly 
from  the  drama. 

The  legend  tells  us  that  Tannhauser,  who  represents 
the  soul  at  a  certain  stage  of  development,  has  been 
disappointed  in  love,  because  its  object,  Elizabeth, 
was  too  pure  and  too  young  to  be  even  approached 
with  a  request  that  she  yield  to  him.  Yearning  with 
passionate  desire,  he  attracts  something  of  an  identical 
nature. 

9 


130  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Our  thoughts  are  like  tuning  forks.  They  awaken 
echoes  in  others  who  are  capable  of  responding  to 
them,  and  the  passionate  thought  of  Tannhauser 
brings  him,  therefore,  to  that  which  is  called  "the 
Mountain  of  Venus." 

Like  A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  of  Shakespeare, 
this  story  of  how  he  finds  the  Mountain  of  Venus,  of 
how  he  is  taken  in  by  this  lovely  goddess,  and  is  kept 
in  passion's  chains  by  her  charms,  is  not  entirely 
founded  upon  fancy.  There  are  spirits  in  the  air,  in 
the  water,  and  in  the  fire;  and  under  certain  con- 
ditions they  are  contacted  by  man.  Not  so  much  per- 
haps in  the  electric  atmosphere  of  America,  but  over 
all  of  Europe,  particularly  in  the  north,  there  broods 
a  mystic  atmosphere  which  has  somewhat  attuned 
the  people  to  the  seeing  of  these  elementals.  The  god- 
dess of  beauty,  or  Venus,  here  spoken  of,  is  really  one 
of  the  etheric  entities  who  feed  upon  the  fumes  of 
low  desire,  in  the  gratification  of  which  the  creative 
force  is  liberated  in  copious  quantities.  Many  of  the 
spirit  controls  which  take  possession  of  a  medium  and 
incite  them  to  laxity  of  morals  and  abuses,  who  act  as 
their  soul  lovers  and  seriously  weaken  their  victims, 
belong  to  this  same  class  which  is  exceedingly  danger- 
ous, to  say  the  least.  Paracelsus  mentions  them  as 
"incubi"  and  "succubi." 

The  opening  scene  of  Tanhauser  introduces  us  to 
a  licentious  debauch  in  the  cave  of  Venus.  Tann- 


THE  PENDULUM  OF  JOY  AND  SORROW  131 

hauser  is  kneeling  before  the  goddess  who  is  stretched 
on  a  couch.  He  wakens  as  if  from  a  dream,  and  his 
dream  has  inculcated  a  longing  to  visit  the  earth  above 
again.  This  he  tells  the  goddess  Venus  who  answers : 

1 '  What  foolish  plaint !  Art  weary  of  my  love  ? 
By  sorrow  once  thy  heart  was  crushed  above. 
Up  minstrel,  seize  thy  harp  and  sing  of  bliss  divine, 
For  love's  chief  treasure,  love's  goddess  is  thine." 

Inflamed  with  new  ardor   Tannhauser  seizes  harp 
and  sings  her  praise : 

' '  All  hail  to  thee !  Undying  fame  attend  thee. 

Paeans  of  praise  to  thee  be  ever  sung. 

Each  soft  delight  thy  bounty  sweet  did  lend  me, 

Shall  wake  my  harp  while  time  and  love  are  young ; 

For  love's  sweet  joy,  and  satisfaction's  pleasure, 

My  sense  did  thirst,  my  heart  did  crave; 

And  thou,  whose  love  a  God  alone  can  measure, 

Gave  me  thyself,  and  in  this  bliss  I  lave. 

But  mortal  am  I,  and  a  love  divine, 

Too  changeless  is  to  mate  with  mine. 

A  god  can  love  without  cessation, 

But  under  laws  of  alternation, 

Our  share  of  pain  as  well  as  pleasure, 

We  mortals  need  in  changing  measure. 

Too  full  of  joy,  again  I  long  for  pain, 

So,  Queen,  I  cannot  here  remain." 


132  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

When  mankind  emerged  from  Atlantis,  and  came 
into  the  air  of  Aryana,  the  rainbow  stood  for  the  first 
time  in  the  sky  as  the  sign  of  the  new  age.  At  that 
time  it  was  said  that  as  long  as  this  bow  was  in  the 
clouds  the  seasons  would  not  cease  to  change ;  day  and 
night,  summer  and  winter,  ebb  and  flood,  and  all  the 
other  alternating  measures  of  nature  would  follow 
one  another  in  unbroken  succession.  In  music  there 
may  not  always  be  harmony.  Discord  once  in  a  while 
co  •.nes  in  to  give  appreciation  of  the  melody  which 
follows.  Thus,  it  is  with  the  question  of  pain  and 
sorrow,  of  joy  and  happiness :  they  are  also  measures 
of  alternation.  We  cannot  live  in  one  without  crav- 
ing the  other,  any  more  than  we  could  remain  in 
heaven  and  gather  experiences  that  are  only  to  be 
found  upon  earth.  And  it  is  this  inward  urge,  this 
swing  of  the  pendulum  from  joy  to  sorrow  and  back 
again,  which  drives  Tannhauser  from  the  cave  of 
Venus  that  he  may  again  know  the  strife  and  struggle 
of  the  world;  that  he  may  there  gain  the  experience 
which  sorrow  alone  can  give  and  forget  the  pleasures 
which  bring  to  him  no  soul  power.  But  it  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  lower  forces,  however,  that  they  al- 
ways seek  to  influence  the  soul  against  its  will;  that 
they  always  use  every  endeavor  to  keep  it  away  from 
the  path  of  rectitude ;  and  so  Venus  who  stands  as  the 
representative  of  these  powers  in  the  drama  of  Tann- 
hauser, warningly  and  dissuasively  says: 


THE  PENDULUM  OF  JOY  AND  SORROW          133 

"In  dust  thy  soul  will  soon  be  humbled, 

Adversity  thy  pride  will  fell, 
Then  crushed  in  spirit,  ardor  crumbled, 

Thou  It  plead  again  to  feel  my  spell. " 

But  Tannhauser  is  firm  in  his  purpose.  The  urge 
within  him  is  so  strong  that  nothing  can  keep  him 
back,  and  though  he  still  feels  the  spell,  he  exclaims 
with  great  fervor : 

"While  I  have  life,  but  thee  my  harp  will  praise, 

No  meaner  theme  will  e'er  my  song  inspire; 

Thou  spring  of  beauty  and  of  gentle  grace, 

With  sweetest  songs  dost  quicken  love 's  desire ; 

The  fire  thou  kindlest  in  my  heart, 

An  alter  flame  will  burn  alone  for  thee, 

And  though  in  sorrow  now  from  thee  I  part, 

Thy  champion  I  shall  ever  be. 

But  I  must  forth,  the  life  of  earth  I  crave, 

Here  I  must  aye  remain  a  slave ; 

I  thirst  for  freedom  though  my  death  it  be, 

Therefore,  0  Queen,  from  thee  I  flee!" 

Thus  when  Tannhauser  leaves  the  cave  of  Venus  he 
is  the  pledged  champion  of  the  low  and  sensual  side 
of  love;  and  this  he  goes  out  into  the  world  to  teach, 
for  that  is  the  nature  of  mankind :  whatever  the  heart 
feels,  must  out. 


134  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Knowing  the  country  well,  he  at  once  turns  his 
steps  toward  Wartburg  where  a  number  of  minstrels 
are  always  staying  with  the  lord  and  lady  of  the 
manor,  who  to  a  very  large  extent  are  patrons  of  min- 
strelsy always  anxious  to  be  entertained  and  always 
lavish  with  their  gifts. 

After  awhile  he  meets  a  band  of  minstrels  who  are 
walking  in  the  woods,  and  these,  his  former  friends, 
are  surprised  that  they  have  not  seen  him  for  so  long. 
They  ask  him  where  he  has  been,  but  Tannhauser, 
knowing  that  there  is  a  general  sentiment  against  be- 
ing with  the  lower  elemental  forces  in  nature,  hides 
his  whereabouts  during  the  period  of  his  absence  from 
them,  by  giving  an  evasive  answer.  He  is  then  told 
by  the  minstrels  that  there  is  to  be  a  tournament  of 
the  troubadours  at  the  castle  and  is  invited  to  go  with 
them. 

Hearing  that  the  subject  of  the  song  contest  is  to  be 
love,  and  furthermore,  that  the  prize  will  be  given  to 
the  winner  by  the  hand  of  the  beautiful  daughter  of 
the  lord,  namely  Elizabeth,  (the  lady  Tannhauser  has 
loved  so  ardently  and  who  so  inflamed  his  soul  in  past 
days  that  it  drove  him  to  the  cave  of  Venus)  he  hopes 
by  the  ardor  with  which  he  is  inspired,  to  induce  the 
beautiful  maiden  to  hear  his  plaint.  As  we  always 
reap  a  harvest  of  pain  whenever  we  go  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  progress,  Tannhauser,  by  this  act,  is  sow- 
ing the  seed  that  will  one  day  bring  him  the  harvest 
of  pain  he  coveted  in  the  cave  of  Venus. 


135 


Chapter  XVI 
MINSTRELS,  INITIATES  OF  MIDDLE  AGEIS 

WHEN  Tannhauser  emerged  from  the  cave  of 
Venus  one  of  the  first  sounds  which  greeted  him 
was  the  chant  of  a  band  of  pilgrims  going  to  Rome  to 
obtain  forgiveness  for  their  sins,  and  this  awakened 
within  him  an  overpowering  sense  of  his  own  delin- 
quency. Therefore  he  kneels  and  exclaims  in  deep 
contrition : 

"  Almighty,  praise  I  give  to  Thee, 
I  pray  Thee  mercy  show  to  me. 
By  sense  of  sin  I  am  oppressed, 
The  load  too  heavy  far  for  me. 
I  have  no  peace,  can  find  no  rest 
Till  pardon  I  receive  from  Thee." 

While  he  is  thus  dejected  and  feels  himself  ac- 
cursed, doomed  to  roam  alone  and  unblessed  through 
the  world  because  of  his  unhallowed  love  for  Venus, 
the  minstrels  come  upon  him,  and  recognizing  him, 
endeavor  to  persuade  him  to  accompany  them  to  Wart- 
burg,  but  as  said  before,  it  was  the  passionate  love  of 
Elizabeth  that  drove  him  thence,  and  he  feels  that  he 
dare  not  approach  her.  As  a  last  argument,  Wolfram 


136  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

von  Esehenbaeh  tells  Tannhauser  that  Elizabeth  loves 
him.  Elizabeth  has  never  been  at  the  contests  of  song 
since  Tannhauser  left,  and  Wolfram  von  Esehenbaeh, 
one  of  the  purest  and  most  beautiful  characters  in 
Medieval  history,  endeavors  to  secure  the  happiness  of 
Elizabeth  by  bringing  Tannhauser  back  to  her  though 
he  himself  loves  her,  and  it  breaks  his  own  heart  to 
do  so.  On  hearing  this,  passion  fires  Tannhauser 's 
soul  anew,  and  he  sings : 

"Ah,  dost  thou  smile  once  more  upon  me! 

Thou  radiant  world  that  I  had  lost ! 

0  sun  of  heaven  thou  dost  not  shun  me 

By  stormy  clouds  so  long  o'ercrossed. 

'Tis  May,  sweet  May.  Its  thousand  carols  tender, 

Rejoicing  set  my  sorrow  free. 

A  ray  of  new,  unwonted  splendor 

Illumes  my  soul,  0  joy  'tis  she ! " 

On  meeting  Elizabeth  at  the  castle,  she  tells  him : 

"Now  the  world  to  me  is  darkened. 
Repose  and  joy  from  me  have  flown. 
Since  fondly  to  thy  lays  IVe  hearkened, 
The  pangs  of  bliss  and  woe  I've  known; 
And  when  this  land  thou  hadst  forsaken, 
My  peace  of  heart  had  also  fled. 
No  minstrel  could  my  joy  awaken, 
To  me  their  lays  seem  sad  and  dead. 
In  slumber  oft  near  broken-hearted. 


MINSTRELS,  INITIATES  OF  MIDDLE  AGES         137 

Awake,  each  pang  was  oft  recalled; 
All  joy  has  from  my  life  departed. 
Oh  tell  me  why  I  am  enthralled!'7 

To  this  Tannhauser  replies : 

"All  praise  to  love  for  this  sweet  token! 
Love  touched  my  harp  with  magic  sweet. 
Love  through  my  song  to  thee  hath  spoken 
And  captured,  leaves  me  at  thy  feet." 

Elizabeth  then  confesses : 

* '  0  blessed  hour  of  meeting  I 
0  blessed  power  of  love ! 
At  last  I  give  thee  greeting, 
No  longer  wilt  thou  rove. 
Now  life  anew  awakens, 
Within  this  heart  of  mine ; 
The  cloud  of  sorrow  breaketh. 
The  sun  of  joy  doth  shine. ' ' 

Thus  Elizabeth  has  inspired  love  in  the  hearts  o± 
two  of  the  minstrels,  Wolfram  and  Tannhauser,  bat 
how  different  this  love  is  will  be  seen  from  the  wey 
each  handles  the  theme  in  the  contest  of  song,  which 
follows  in  the  second  act,  where  the  Lord  of  Wart- 
burg  opens  the  contest  with  the  following  words : 

"As  oft  in  war  times,  death  we  braved, 

And  knightlike  battled,  honor  to  maintain, 

So,  minstrels  you  have  fought  and  virtue  saved. 


138  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Upheld  true  faith  with  voice  and  harp's  sweet 

strain. 

Tune  up  again;  another  lay  indite. 
Describe  true  love,  that  we  may  surely  know; 
And  who  so  does  most  nobly  this  recite 
The  princess  shall  reward  on  him  bestow. ' ' 

In  this  last  verse  we  gain  a  true  understanding  of 
the  relative  scope  and  mission  of  knighthood  and  min- 
strelsy. It  was  the  duty  of  knights  to  follow  war, 
to  defend  with  the  sword  all  who  were  in  need  thereof, 
to  fight  with  a  strong  arm  the  battle  of  the  weak.  In 
so  far  as  a  knight  followed  the  code  of  honor  then  pre- 
vailing, and  defended  the  weak,  keeping  faith  with 
friend  and  foe,  he  learned  the  lessons  of  physical  and, 
in  a  certain  sense,  of  moral  courage,  which  are  so 
necessary  for  the  development  of  the  soul.  Anyone 
who  enters  upon  the  path  of  spiritual  attainment  is 
also  a  knight  of  noble  birth,  and  it  behooves  him  to 
realize  that  he  must  have  the  same  virtues  which  were 
required  of  knighthood,  for  upon  the  spiritual  path 
there  are  also  dangers  and  places  where  physical 
courage  is  required.  The  spirit,  for  instance,  cannot 
come  to  liberation  without  physical  inconvenience. 
Sickness  usually  attends  soul  growth  to  a  greater  or  a 
less  extent,  and  it  requires  physical  courage  to  endure 
the  suffering  incident  to  that  attainment,  after  which 
we  all  strive,  and  thus  sacrifice  the  body  for  the  soul. 

It  was  the  mission  of  minstrelsy  to  foster  this  cour- 
age and  to  inculcate  the  finer  virtues  also.  All  min- 


MINSTRELS,  INITIATES  OF  MIDDLE  AGES         139 

strels,  therefore,  had  that  poetical  strain  which  brings 
us  in  touch  with  the  higher  and  finer  thing?  in  Namre 
not  sensed  by  ordinary  humanity ;  but  more  than  that, 
many  among  the  minstrels  in  Medieval  times  vere 
Initiates  themselves,  or  perhaps  lay  brothers.  There- 
fore their  words  were  often  found  to  be  pearls  of  wis- 
dom. They  were  looked  up  to  as  teachers,  as  wise 
men,  and  were  friends  of  the  true  nobility. 

There  were,  of  course,  exceptions,  but  Tannhauser 
was  not  one  of  these,  however.  We  shall  find  that 
he  was  really  a  noble  soul  despite  his  faults,  and  in 
fact  we  should  remember  that  we  are  all  Taunhausers 
before  we  become  Wolframs.  We  all  respond  to 
Tannhauser 's  definition  of  love  before  we  grow  to 
Wolfram's  spiritual  conception  as  given  at  the  con- 
test. 

Lots  are  drawn  to  see  who  shall  begin  the  contest, 
and  the  name  of  Wolfram  appears  on  the  slip  first 
taken  from  the  box.  He  therefore  commences  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  Gazing  around  upon  this  fair  assemblage 
How  does  the  heart  expand  to  see  the  scene ! 
These  gallant  heroes,  valiant,  wise,  and  gentle, 
As  stately  forests  growing  fresh  and  green, 
And  blooming  by  their  side  in  sweet  perfection, 
I  see  a  wreath  of  dames  and  maidens  fair. 
Their  blended  glories  dazzle  the  beholder, 
My  song  is  mute  before  this  vision  rare. 
I  raise  my  eyes  to  one  whose  starry  splendor 


140  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

In  this  bright  heaven  with  mild  effulgence  beams, 
And  gazing  on  that  radiance,  pure  and  tender 
My  heart  is  sunk  in  prayerful,  holy  dreams. 
And  lo,  the  source  of  all  delight  and  power 
Is  then  unto  my  listening  soul  revealed. 
From  whose   unfathomed   depths,  all   joy   doth 

shower 

The  tender  balm  through  which  all  grief  is  healed. 
Oh !  never  may  I  dim  its  limpid  waters 
Nor  rashly  trouble  them  with  wild  desires. 
I  '11  worship  thee,  kneeling,  with  soul  devoted. 
To  live  and  die  for  thee  my  heart  aspires. 
I  know  not  if  these  feeble  words  can  render 
What  I  have  felt  of  love  both  true  and  tender." 

At  the  end  of  Wolfram's  song  Tannhauser  starts  as 
if  from  a  dream.    He  rises  and  sings: 

' '  I,  too,  drank  from  that  well  of  pleasure ; 
Its  waters,  Wolfram,  well  I  know; 
Who  that  has  life  may  dare  ignore  it? 
Hear  how  its  virtues  I  will  show  : 
But  I  would  not  draw  near  its  margin 
Unless  desire  consumed  my  soul ; 
Then  only  would  its  wave  refresh  me, 
My  life  and  heart  make  new  and  whole. 
0  tide  of  joy,  let  me  possess  thee! 
All  fear  and  doubt  before  thee  fly : 
Let  thy  unfathomed  raptures  bless  me ! 
For  thee  alone  my  heart  beats  high, 
So  that  I  own  thy  fiery  splendor, 


MINSTRELS,  INITIATES  OF  MIDDLE  AGES         141 

Let  me  with  longing  ever  burn. 
I  tell  thee,  Wolfram,  thus  I  render 
What  I  have  known  of  truest  love. ' ' 

Here  we  have  the  true  description  of  the  two  ex- 
tremes of  love ;  that  of  Wolfram  being  the  love  of  soul 
for  soul,  Tannhauser's  being  the  love  of  sense.  One  is 
the  love  that  seeks  to  give,  the  other  demands  posses- 
sion that  it  may  receive.  This  is  only  the  beginning 
of  the  contest,  of  which  we  shall  hear  fully  later,  but 
these  being  the  definitions  first  given  by  the  two 
chief  exponents  of  love,  it  is  well  worth  noting  that 
Wolfram  von  Eschenbach  stands  as  the  exponent  of 
the  new  and  the  more  beautiful  love  which  is  to  super- 
sede the  primeval  conception. 

Even  to  this  day,  unfortunately,  the  ancient  idea 
is  entertained  that  possession  is  the  signature  of  love. 
Those  who  believe  in  rebirths  in  alternate  sexes,  should 
by  this  fact  be  sufficiently  convinced  that,  as  the  soul 
is  bisexual  and  our  bodies  contain  rudimentary 
organs  belonging  to  the  opposite  sex,  so  it  is  no  more 
than  proper  and  just  that  each  human  being  regard- 
less of  the  polarity  of  the  present  garb,  should  have 
the  same  privileges  as  the  other. 


142 


Chapter  XVII 
THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

DURING  the  contest  the  sublime  and  heavenly 
ideals  of  the  companionship  of  soul  with  soul,  is 
sung  by  the  majority  of  the  minstrels,  and  at  each 
presentation  there  comes  from  Tannhauser  a  passion- 
ate retort  defending  the  sensual  phase  of  love.  At 
last,  enraged  at  their  seeming  insipidity,  which  he  re- 
gards as  sentimental  nonsense,  he  cries,  "  Go  to  Venus. 
She  will  show  you  love." 

With  this  remark  his  guilty  secret  is  out.  It  is 
taken  by  everyone  to  mean  that  he  has  committed  that 
which  is  the  worst  phase  of  the  unpardonable  sin, 
namely,  intercourse  with  an  etheric  entity;  and  feel- 
ing that  he  is  depraved  beyond  redemption,  they  rush 
at  him  sword  in  hand  and  would  surely  have  killed 
him  had  not  Elizabeth  interceded,  pleading  that  he 
be  not  cut  off  from  life  in  his  sins,  but  be  given  a 
chance  to  repent.  Then  a  band  of  pilgrims  is  heard 
in  the  distance  and  the  minstrels  agree  that  if  he  will 
go  and  seek  the  pardon  of  the  Holy  See  at  Rome,  they 
will  spare  his  life. 


THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN  143 

When  Elizabeth  reveals  the  grief  of  her  heart  in 
her  plea  for  Tannhauser,  he  at  last  sees  the  enormity 
of  his  sins  and  is  seized  with  an  overwhelming  sense 
of  his  depravity.  He,  therefore,  anxiously  grasps  the 
suggestion  given  him,  joins  the  band  of  pilgrims,  and 
journeys  toward  Rome.  Being  a  strong  soul,  he  does 
nothing  by  halves.  His  contrition  is  as  sincere  as 
his  sin  was  brazen.  His  whole  being  yearns  to  cleanse 
itself  from  impurity  that  he  may  aspire  to  the  higher 
and  nobler  love  awakened  in  his  breast  by  Elizabeth. 

The  other  pilgrims  sang  psalms  of  praise,  but  he 
scarcely  dared  to  look  to  Rome  in  the  distance,  saying, 
"God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  While  they  re- 
freshed themselves  and  slept  in  hospices  on  the  way, 
he  made  his  bed  upon  the  snow.  When  they  walked 
over  the  smooth  road,  he  walked  among  thorns,  and 
when  he  came  to  Italy  so  that  not  even  the  fair  scenes 
of  that  land  should  give  him  joy,  he  blindfolded  his 
eyes  and  thus  journeyed  toward  the  Eternal  City. 

At  last  the  morn  came  upon  which  he  was  to  see 
the  Holy  Father,  and  hope  rose  in  his  heart.  During 
the  entire  day  he  stood  patiently  while  thousands  of 
others  passed  by,  the  ecstasies  of  Heaven  on  their 
countenances,  and  received  there  the  pardon  they 
craved,  going  away  with  lighter  hearts,  gladdened  and 
ready  to  make  a  new  start. 

At  last  came  his  turn.  He  stood  in  that  august 
presence  and  waited  patiently  for  the  Holy  Father's 
message,  waiting  and  hoping  for  a  kind  word  to  send 
him  on  his  way  rejoicing.  Instead  there  came  the 


144  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

thundered  words,  "If  you  have  associated  with  de- 
mons, then  there  is  no  forgiveness  for  you,  neither  in 
heaven  nor  on  earth.  Sooner  will  this  dry  staff  which 
I  hold  in  my  hand  blossom,  than  that  thy  sins  will  be 
forgiven. ' ' 

At  this  heartless  announcement  the  last  spark  of 
hope  died  within  Tannhauser,  and  lust,  a  thing  of 
blood,  lifted  its  head.  His  love  was  turned  to  hate, 
and  blazing  with  anger  he  cursed  everything  in  heaven 
and  on  earth,  swearing  that  if  he  could  not  have  true 
love,  then  he  would  return  to  the  cave  and  seek  Venus 
anew,  and  telling  his  fellow  pilgrims  to  keep  back,  he 
leaves  then  and  journeys  back  to  his  native  home  alone. 

Meanwhile  the  prayers  of  Elizabeth,  the  pure  and 
chaste  virgin  to  whom  Tannhauser 's  love  had  gone 
out,  unceasingly  called  for  forgiveness  for  the  sinner. 
Hopefully  she  awaited  the  return  of  the  pilgrims, 
but  when  at  last  they  arrived  and  Tannhauser  was 
not  among  them,  despair  seized  her,  and  feeling  that 
there  was  no  other  way  she  passed  out  of  this  phase 
of  life,  to  present  personally  her  petition  at  the 
Throne  of  Grace  before  our  Heavenly  Father.  The 
funeral  procession  is  met  by  the  returning  Tann- 
hauser, who  is  bowed  with  unspeakable  grief  at  this 
sight. 

Then  another  band  of  returning  pilgrims  arrive, 
telling  of  a  great  miracle  which  has  taken  place  at 
Kome.  The  staff  of  the  Pope  had  budded  to  signify 
that  a  sinner  refused  remission  on  earth,  had  found 
pardon  in  heaven. 


THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN  145 

Though  the  legend  is  clothed  in  Medieval  and  Cath- 
olic phraseology,  and  though  we  may  discount  the  idea 
that  any  one  man  has  power  to  forgive  sin  or  deny  re- 
mission, it  contains  spiritual  truths  which  are  becom- 
ing more  pertinent  with  each  passing  year.  It  deals 
with  the  unpardonable  sin:  the  only  sin  that  cannot 
be  forgiven,  but  must  be  expiated.  As  you  know, 
Jehovah  is  the  highest  Initiate  of  the  Moon  Period, 
the  ruler  of  the  angels,  who  during  this  present  day 
of  manifestation  work  with  our  humanity  through  the 
Moon.  He  is  the  author  of  generation  and  the  prime 
factor  in  gestation,  the  giver  of  offspring  to  man  and 
to  beast,  using  the  lunar  ray  as  his  vehicle  of  work 
during  the  times  which  are  propitious  to  generation. 
Jehovah  is  a  jealous  God,  jealous  of  his  prerogative, 
and,  therefore,  when  man  ate  of  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge and  took  the  matter  of  generation  into  his  own 
hands,  he  expelled  him  from  paradise  to  wander  in 
the  wilderness  of  the  world.  There  was  no  forgive- 
ness. He  must  expiate  it  in  travail  and  in  pain,  reap- 
ing the  fruit  of  his  transgression. 

Before  the  Fall,  humanity  had  not  known  either  good 
or  evil.  They  had  done  what  they  were  told,  and 
nothing  else.  By  taking  matters  into  their  own  hands, 
and  by  the  pain  and  the  sorrow  which  followed  their 
transgression,  they  learned  the  difference  between 
good  and  evil:  they  became  capable  of  choice.  They 
acquired  prerogative.  This  is  the  great  privilege  which 
more  than  compensates  for  the  suffering  and  the  sor- 
row man  has  endured  in  expiation  of  that  offense 

1O 


146  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

against  the  law  of  life,  which  lies  in  performing  the 
creative  act  when  the  stellar  rays  are  unpropitious, 
thus  causing  painful  parturition,  and  a  multitude  of 
other  diseases  to  which  humanity  is  heir  today. 

In  this  connection  I  may  mention  that  the  moon  is 
the  ruler  of  the  sign  Cancer,  and  that  cancer,  in  its 
malignant  form,  admits  of  no  cure,  no  matter  how 
many  remedies  science  may  bring  forward  from  time 
to  time.  Investigation  of  the  lives  of  persons  who 
suffer  from  this  disease  has  proved  in  every  case  that 
the  one  involved  has  been  sensual  in  the  extreme  dur- 
ing previous  lives,  though  I  am  not  prepared  to  say 
that  this  is  a  law,  since  a  sufficient  number  of  inves- 
tigations have  not  been  made  to  establish  it.  It  is, 
nevertheless,  significant  that  Jehovah,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  rules  generative  functions  through  the  Moon, 
that  the  Moon  governs  Cancer,  and  that  those  who 
abuse  the  sex  function  in  a  very  marked  and  bestial 
degree  are  later  afflicted  with  the  disease  called  can- 
cer :  that  that  is  incurable  and  thus  bears  out  the  say- 
ing in  the  Bible  that  all  things  may  be  forgiven  save 
the  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit. 

There  is  a  mystic  connection  between  the  Cherubim 
with  the  flaming  sword  at  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  the 
Cherubim  with  the  open  flower  on  the  door  of  Solo- 
mon's Temple:  between  the  spear  and  the  Grail  cup: 
between  Aaron's  rod  that  budded  and  the  staff  of  the 
Pope  which  flowered  and  the  death  of  the  chaste  and 
pure  Elizabeth,  by  whose  intercession  the  stain  was 
removed  from  the  soul  of  the  erring  Tannhauser. 


THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN  147 

Neither  can  one  who  has  never  known  the  awful  tor- 
ment of  temptation  realize  the  position  of  one  who  has 
fallen.  Christ,  Himself,  felt  in  the  body  of  Jesus  all 
the  passion  and  all  the  temptations  to  which  we  our- 
selves are  subject,  and  it  is  stated  that  that  was  for 
the  purpose  of  making  Him  merciful  unto  us  as  a 
High  Priest.  That  He  was  tempted,  proves  that 
temptation  is  in  itself  not  sin.  It  is  the  yielding  that 
is  sin;  therefore,  He  was  without  sin.  Whoever  can 
thus  be  tempted  and  withstand,  is  of  course  highly 
evolved ;  but  let  us  remember  that  none  of  the  present 
humanity  have  yet  arrived  at  that  stage  of  perfection 
and  that  we  are  better  men  and  women  for  having 
sinned,  and  suffered  in  consequence,  until  we  have 
become  awake  to  the  important  fact  that  the  way  of 
the  transgressor  is  hard,  and  have  turned  into  the 
pathway  of  virtue,  whereon  alone  is  found  inward 
peace.  Such  men  and  women  are  on  a  much  higher 
stage  of  spiritual  development  than  those  who  have 
lived  lives  of  purity  because  of  a  sheltered  environ- 
ment. This  Christ  emphasized  when  He  said  that  there 
shall  be  more  rejoicing  over  one  sinner  who  repents 
than  over  the  ninety-and-nine  who  need  no  repent- 
ance. 

There  is  a  very  important  distinction  between  inno- 
cence and  virtue,  and  what  is  more  important  still,  is 
that  we  should  realize  the  fallacy  of  the  double  stan- 
dard of  conduct  which  gives  liberties  to  or  rather  con- 
dones them  in  a  man,  while  insisting  that  one  misstep 


148  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

will  ruin  a  woman  for  life.  Were  I  to  choose  a  wife 
today,  and  later  learn  that  her  life  had  been  clouded 
by  a  mistake  for  which  she  had  suffered,  I  should 
know  that  such  a  one  had  learned  to  know  sorrow, 
and  had  engendered  compassion  and  forbearance 
thereby,  and  had  thus  acquired  qualities  which  would 
make  her  a  better  and  more  sympathetic  companion 
than  one  who  stood  * '  innocent ' '  upon  the  threshold  of 
life,  liable  to  fall  a  prey  to  the  first  temptation  that 
befell  her. 


149 


i 


Chapter  XVIII 
THE  ROD  THAT  BUDDED 

N  the  prologue  of  Faust,  God  is  represented  as  say- 
ing, concerning  the  hero : 

"With  vision  imperfect  he  serves  me  now, 
But  soon  I'll  lead  him  where  more  light  appears; 
"When  buds  the  sapling  doth  the  gardener  know, 
That  flow'r  and  fruit  will  grace  its  coming  years. " 

This  is  the  actual  fact  concerning  all  mankind.  At 
the  present  time  we  all  serve  God  imperfectly  because 
of  our  limited  vision.  We  have  not  the  real,  true  per- 
ception of  what  is  wanted  and  of  how  we  should  use 
the  talents  wherewith  we  are  now  endowed.  Never- 
theless God,  through  the  process  of  evolution  is  con- 
stantly leading  us  into  greater  and  greater  light,  and 
by  degrees  we  shall  cease  to  be  spiritually  barren :  We 
shall  flower  and  bear  fruit.  Thus  we  shall  be  able  to 
serve  God  as  we  would  and  not  as  we  do. 

While  the  foregoing  applies  to  all  in  general,  it  ap- 
plies particularly  to  those  who  stand  in  the  limelight 
as  teachers;  for  naturally,  where  the  light  is  the 
strongest,  the  shadows  are  also  the  deepest,  and  the 


150  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

imperfections  of  those  among  us,  who  must  take  up 
the  burden  of  teaching,  are  naturally  more  marked  on 
that  account. 

In  the  story  of  Tannhauser,  the  Pope  shuts  the  door 
of  hope  in  the  face  of  the  penitent  because  the  letter 
of  the  law  requires  it,  but  not  thus  is  God's  mercy 
frustrated.  The  Pope's  staff  blooms  to  prove  that 
the  penitent  has  been  forgiven  because  of  the  sincere 
penitence  whereby  the  evil  has  been  washed  from  the 
record  made  upon  the  seed  atom.  Thus  by  a  higher 
law  the  lower  has  been  superseded. 

There  is  in  this  legend  of  the  Pope's  staff,  a  simil- 
arity to  the  tale  of  the  Holy  Grail  and  the  spear;  to 
the  story  of  Aaron's  rod  which  also  bloomed,  and  to 
the  staff  of  Moses  that  brought  the  water  of  life  forth 
from  the  rock.  All  have  an  important  bearing  upon 
the  problem  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  disciple  who 
aims  to  follow  the  path  to  the  higher  life  and  seeks, 
like  Kundry,  to  undo  the  deeds  of  ill  of  former  lives 
by  a  present  life  of  service  to  the  higher  self.  The 
legend  of  the  Grail  distinguishes  between  the  Grail 
cup  itself  and  the  Cleansing  Blood  which  it  held. 

The  story  is  told  of  how  Lucifer,  when  he  strove 
with  the  Archangel  Michael  over  the  body  of  Moses, 
lost  the  choicest  gem  in  his  crown.  It  was  dislodged 
in  the  struggle.  This  beautiful  gem,  comparable  to 
none,  was  an  emerald  named  ' l  Exilir. ' '  It  was  thrown 
into  the  abyss  but  was  recovered  by  the  angels  and 
from  that  the  chalice  or  Holy  Grail  was  made  which 
later  was  used  to  hold  the  Cleansing  Blood  that  flowed 


THE  ROD  THAT  BUDDED  151 

from  the  Saviour 's  side  when  it  had  been  pierced  by 
the  centurion's  spear.  Let  us  first  note  the  fact 
that  this  jewel  was  an  emerald:  it  was  green, 
and  green  is  a  combination  of  blue  and  yellow,  and 
is,  therefore,  the  complementary  color  of  the  third 
primary  color,  red.  In  the  physical  world  red  has  the 
tendency  to  excite  and  energize,  whereas  green  has  a 
cooling  and  a  soothing  effect,  but  the  opposite  is  true 
when  we  look  at  the  matter  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
desire  world.  There  the  complementary  color  is  ac- 
tive, and  has  the  effect  upon  our  desires  and  emo- 
tions which  we  ascribe  to  the  physical  color.  Thus  the 
green  color  of  the  gem  lost  by  Lucifer  shows  the  nat- 
ure and  effect  thereof.  This  stone  is  the  antithesis  of 
the  Philosopher's  Stone.  It  has  the  power  to  attract 
passion  and  generate  love  of  sex  for  sex,  which  is  the 
vice  opposite  to  the  chaste  and  pure  love,  symbolized 
by  the  apocalyptic  white  stone,  which  latter  is  the 
love  of  soul  for  soul.  As  this  effect  of  the  comple- 
mentary colors  is  well  known,  though  not  consciously 
realized,  we  also  speak  of  jealousy,  which  is  engen- 
dered by  impure  love,  as  the  green  eyed  monster. 

The  Holy  Grail  finds  its  replica  in  the  chalice  or 
seed  pod  of  the  plant,  which  is  green.  The  creative 
fire  slumbers  within  the  seed  pod.  Likewise  the  same 
phenomenon  must  become  manifest  within  each  one 
who  enters  upon  the  quest  of  the  Holy  Grail.  Will  is 
the  male  quality  of  the  soul ;  imagination  is  the  female. 
When  will  is  the  strongest  attribute,  the  soul  wears 
male  attire  in  a  certain  life,  and  in  another,  where  the 


152  MYSTERIES  OP  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

quality  of  imagination  is  greater,  the  female  garb  is 
taken.  Thus  under  the  law  of  alternation  which  pre- 
vails during  the  present  age  of  the  rainbow,  the  soul 
wears,  a  different  garment  in  alternate  lives,  but 
whether  the  gender  is  feminine  or  masculine,  the  or- 
gan of  the  opposite  sex  is  present  in  an  undeveloped 
state.  Thus  man  is  now,  and  will  be  so  long  as  the 
physical  body  endures,  botli  male  ana  female. 

In  the  hoary  past,  when  his  consciousness  was  fo- 
cused in  the  spiritual  world,  he  was  a  perfect  creative 
unit  with  both  sex  organs  equally  developed  as  are 
many  flowers  today.  He  was  then  capable  of  generat- 
ing a  new  body  when  the  old  one  was  worn  out,  but  he 
was  not  at  that  time  aware  to  the  same  degree  as  he 
is  now  of  the  fact  that  he  had  a  body.  Then  some 
who  were  pioneers — some  who  saw  more  clearly  than 
others — told  to  their  compeers  the  astonishing  story 
that  man  has  a  body.  They  were  often  met  with  the 
same  skepticism  which  is  now  shown  to  those  who  af- 
firm that  we  have  a  soul. 

Thus  the  symbolical  story  of  Lucifor  losing  the 
green  gem  is  the  story  of  how  man  ceased  to  know 
himself  and  began  to  know  his  wife ;  of  how  the  Grail 
was  lost,  and  of  how  it  may  only  be  found  through 
the  cleansing  of  the  passion  filled  physical  blood  which 
was  originally  contained  in  that  green  vessel. 

At  a  propitious  time  of  the  year,  but  neither  before 
nor  after,  the  rays  emanating  from  the  heavenly  orbs 
pierce  the  planted  seed  and  waken  its  latent  genera- 
tive force  into  activity.  Then  a  new  plant  springs  out 


THE  ROD  THAT  BUDDED  153 

of  the  ground  to  again  beautify  the  earth.  Thus  the 
act  of  generation  is  accomplished  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  law  of  nature,  and  a  thing  of  beauty  is  gen- 
erated to  adorn  the  earth.  The  result  is  different  in 
humans  since  the  feminine  quality  of  imagination  was 
roused  by  Lucifer. 

Now  the  generative  act  is  performed  regardless  of 
the  propitious  solar  rays,  and  as  a  result  sin  and  death 
entered  the  world.  From  that  time  the  spiritual  light 
has  waned,  and  we  are  now  blind  to  Heaven's  glory. 

In  the  hands  of  the  divine  leaders  of  mankind, 
one  of  them  signified  by  Aaron,  the  living  rod  was  a 
vehicle  of  power.  Later  the  blooming  rod  dried  up 
and  was  laid  away  in  the  Ark,  but  we  are  not  to  con- 
clude that  there  is  no  redemption  on  that  account,  for 
as  man  was  exiled  from  the  heavenly  state  when  the 
green  gem  of  passion  and  desire  rolled  from  the  crown 
of  Lucifer,  who  then  led  mankind  through  generation 
to  degeneration;  so  also  there  is  the  white  stone,  the 
Philosopher's  Stone,  the  symbol  of  emancipation.  By 
using  the  power  of  generation  for  regeneration,  we 
overcome  death  and  sin.  It  then  endows  us  with  im- 
mortality and  leads  us  to  Christ. 

That  is  the  message  of  the  story  of  Tannhauser. 
Passion  is  poison.  Abuse  of  generation  under  the 
sway  of  Lucifer,  has  been  the  means  of  leading  us 
downward  into  the  gloom  of  degeneration,  but  the 
same  power  turned  into  the  opposite  direction  and 
used  for  purposes  of  regeneration  is  capable  of  lift- 
ing us  out  of  the  gloom  and  elevating  us  to  a  heavenly 


154  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

state,  when  we  have  thus  won  the  battle.  Through 
passion  the  spirit  has  been  crystallized  into  a  body 
and  only  by  chastity  can  the  fetters  be  loosed,  for 
heaven  is  the  home  of  the  virgin  and  only  in  so  far 
as  we  elevate  love  from  that  of  sex  for  sex  to  the 
standard  of  soul  for  soul  can  we  shatter  the  shackels 
that  bind  us.  Then,  when  we  learn  to  make  conception 
immaculate,  saviours  will  be  born  who  will  loose  the 
fetters  of  sin  and  sorrow  that  now  bind  us. 

In  carrying  out  this  ideal  let  us  remember  however 
that  supression  of  the  sexual  desire  is  not  celibacy; 
the  mind  must  concur  and  we  must  willingly  abstain 
from  impurity.  This  can  only  be  done  by  what  the 
mystic  calls  "finding  the  woman  within  himself." 
(Of  course  for  woman,  it  is  to  find  the  man  within 
herself.)  When  we  have  found  that,  we  arrive  at  the 
point  where  we  can  live  the  same  pure  life  as  the 
flower. 

In  this  connection  it  may  also  be  very  illuminating 
to  remember  that  the  " Dweller  on  the  Threshold" 
which  we  must  confront  before  we  can  enter  the  super- 
physical  worlds  always  has  the  appearance  of  a  crea- 
ture of  the  opposite  sex.  Yet  it  seems  to  be  ourselves. 
It  should  also  be  understood  that  the  more  licentious 
or  lustful  we  have  been,  the  worse  will  be  the  appear- 
ance of  this  monster,  and  Parsifal  standing  before 
Kundry,  when  his  refusal  of  compliance  has  turned 
her  into  a  virago,  is  in  fact  at  the  very  point  where 
the  candidate  finds  himself  face  to  face  with  the 
dweller,  before  the  spear  is  given  into  his  hands. 


glft  of  % 


157 


Chapter  XIX 

THE  KNIGHT  OF  THE  SWAN 

AMONG  the  operas  of  Wagner  there  is,  perhaps 
none  which  is  so  universally  enjoyed  by  the 
large  majority  of  people  who  see  it,  as  Lohengrin.  This 
is  probably  because  the  story  seems,  on  cursory  ex- 
amination, to  be  very  simple  and  beautiful.  The 
music  is  of  an  unusually  exquisite  character,  which 
appeals  to  all  in  a  manner  which  is  not  equalled  by 
the  author's  other  operas  founded  upon  myths  such 
as  Parsifal,  the  Ring  of  the  Niebelung,  or  even  Tann- 
hauser. 

Although  these  last  named  productions  affect  peo- 
ple who  hear  them  powerfully  for  their  spiritual 
good(  whether  they  are  aware  of  the  fact  or  not),  it 


158  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

is  nevertheless,  a  fact  that  they  are  not  enjoyed  by  the 
majority,  particularly  in  America,  where  the  spirit 
of  mysticism  is  not  so  strong  as  it  is  in  Europe. 

It  is  different  with  Lohengrin.  Here  there  is  a 
story  of  the  time  when  knighthood  was  in  flower,  and 
although  there  is  an  embellishment  of  magic  in  the 
advent  of  Lohengrin  and  the  swan  in  response  to  the 
prayer  of  Elsa,  this  is  only  as  a  pretty  poetical  fancy 
without  deeper  meaning.  In  this  myth  is  revealed 
one  of  the  supreme  requirements  of  Initiation — faith. 

Whoever  has  not  this  virtue  will  never  attain ;  its  pos- 
session covers  a  multitude  of  shortcomings  in  other  di- 
rections. 

The  plot  is  briefly  as  follows:  The  heir  of  the 
Duchy  of  Brabant  has  disappeared.  He  is  but  a  child, 
and  the  brother  of  Elsa,  the  heroine  of  the  play,  who 
is  accused  in  the  opening  scene  by  Ortrud  and  Telra- 
mund,  her  enemies,  of  having  done  away  with  this 
young  brother  in  order  that  she  may  obtain  possession 
of  the  principality.  In  consequence  she  has  been 
summoned  before  the  royal  court  to  defend  herself 
against  her  accusers,  but  at  the  opening  scene  no 
knight  as  yet  has  appeared  to  espouse  her  cause  and 
slay  her  traducers.  Then  there  appears  on  the  river  a 
swan,  upon  which  stands  a  knight,  who  comes  up 
to  the  place  where  court  is  being  held.  He  jumps 
ashore  and  offers  to  defend  Elsa  on  condition  that 
she  marry  him.  To  this  she  readily  agrees,  for  he  is 
no  stranger;  she  has  often  seen  him  in  her  dreams 
and  learned  to  love  him.  In  the  duel  between  the  un- 


THE  KNIGHT  OF  THE  SWAN  159 

known  knight  and  Telramund,  the  latter  is  thrown, 
but  his  life  is  magnanimously  spared  by  the  con- 
queror, who  then  claims  Elsa  as  his  bride.  He  had, 
however,  made  another  condition;  namely,  that  she 
may  never  ask  him  who  he  is  and  whence  he  came. 
As  he  appears  so  good  and  so  noble,  and  as  he  has 
come  in  answer  to  her  prayer,  she  makes  no  objection 
to  this  condition  either,  and  the  couple  retire  to  the 
bridal  chamber. 

Although  temporarily  defeated,  Ortrud  and  Telra- 
mund do  not  by  any  means  give  up  their  conspiracy 
against  Elsa,  and  their  next  move  is  to  poison  her 
mind  against  her  noble  protector,  so  that  she  may 
send  him  away  and  then  be  again  at  their  mercy ;  for 
they  hope,  eventually,  themselves  to  secure  the  prin- 
cipality to  which  Elsa  and  her  brother  are  the  right- 
ful heirs.  "With  this  end  in  view  both  present  them- 
selves at  Elsa's  door  and  succeed  in  getting  a  hear- 
ing. They  profess  to  be  exceedingly  penitent  for  what 
they  have  done,  and  very  solicitous  for  the  welfare 
of  Elsa.  It  pains  them  very  much,  they  say,  that 
she  has  been  taken  in  by  someone  whose  name  she 
does  not  even  know,  and  who  is  so  afraid  that  his 
identity  be  known  that  he  has  forbidden  her,  on  pain 
of  his  leaving  her  to  ask  him  his  name. 

There  must  be  something  in  his  life  of  which  he  is 
ashamed,  they  argue,  which  will  not  bear  the  light  of 
day,  else  why  should  he  wish  to  deny  the  one  to  whom 
he  is  willing  to  link  his  whole  life,  knowledge  of  his 
identity  and  antecedents? 


160  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

By  means  of  these  arguments  they  arouse  a  doubt 
in  Elsa's  soul,  and  after  some  conversation  she  goes 
in  to  Lohengrin,  changed.  He  notices  the  difference 
in  her,  and  asks  the  cause.  Finally  she  admits  that  she 
feels  uncertain  about  him  and  that  she  would  like  to 
know  his  name.  Thereby  she  has  broken  the  condition 
which  he  has  imposed  upon  her,  and  he  tells  her  that 
now,  having  expressed  a  doubt  in  him,  it  will  be  im- 
possible for  him  to  remain.  Neither  tears  nor  protesta- 
tions can  change  this  resolve,  so  they  go  together  to 
the  river  where  Lohengrin  calls  his  trusty  swan,  and 
when  that  appears  he  reveals  his  identity,  saying,  "I 
am  Lohengrin,  the  son  of  Parsifal. ' '  The  swan  which 
then  comes,  is  changed  and  stands  before  them  all  as 
the  brother  of  Elsa.  He  then  becomes  her  protector 
in  place  of  the  departing  Lohengrin. 

As  said,  the  story  of  Lohengrin  contains  one  of  the 
most  important  lessons  to  be  learned  on  the  path  of 
attainment.  No  one  will  ever  attain  Initiation  till 
that  has  been  learned.  In  order  that  we  may  properly 
grasp  this  point,  let  us  first  look  at  the  symbol  of  the 
swan  and  see  what  is  behind  it  and  why  the  symbol 
is  used.  Those  who  have  seen  the  opera,  Parsifal,  or 
who  have  read  attentively  the  literature  on  the  Grail, 
are  already  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  swans  were 
the  emblems  worn  by  all  the  Knights  of  the  Grail. 

In  the  opera,  itself,  two  swans  are  mentioned  as  pre- 
paring a  healing  bath  for  the  suffering  King  Amf ortas. 
Parsifal  is  represented  as  shooting  one  of  these  swans, 


THE  KNIGHT  OF  THE  SWAN  161 

and  a  great  deal  of  sorrow  is  manifested  by  the 
Knights  of  the  Grail  at  this  unwarranted  cruelty. 

The  swan  is  capable  of  moving  in  several  elements. 
It  may  fly  in  the  air  with  great  swiftness ;  it  also  pro- 
pels itself  majestically  upon  the  water ;  and  by  means 
of  its  long  neck  it  may  even  explore  the  depths  and 
investigate  whatever  may  be  found  upon  the  bottom 
of  a  not  too  deep  pond.  It  is,  therefore,  an  apt  sym- 
bol of  the  Initiate,  who,  on  account  of  the  power  de- 
veloped within  him,  is  capable  of  elevating  himself  to 
higher  realms,  and  moving  in  different  worlds.  As 
the  swan  flies  through  space,  so  may  one  who  has 
developed  the  powers  of  his  soul  body  travel  in  that 
over  mountains  and  lakes;  as  the  swan  dives  below 
the  surface  of  the  water,  so  may  also  the  Initiate  go 
underneath  the  surface  of  the  deep  in  his  soul  body, 
which  is  not  in  danger  from  fire,  earth,  air,or  water.  In 
fact,  that  is  one  of  the  first  things  that  the  Invisible 
Helpers  have  to  be  taught:  that  they  are  immune 
from  any  danger  which  may  befall  them  in  the  phys- 
ical body,  when  they  are  invested  with  that  golden 
wedding  garment  of  which  we  have  spoken  so  much. 
Thus  they  may  enter  a  burning  building  with  im- 
munity, there  assisting  those  who  are  in  danger,  some- 
times in  a  most  miraculous  manner;  or  they  may  be 
on  board  a  sinking  ship  giving  encouragement  to  those 
who  are  about  to  face  the  great  change. 

The  ancient  Norse  mythology  tells  us  how  noble 
warriors  of  old,  when  they  had  fought  the  battle  and 
had  finally  been  overcome  or  mortally  wounded,  sang 

11 


162  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

their  swan  song.  But  let  it  not  be  supposed  for  a 
moment  that  it  wap  only  the  brutal  fight  fought  upon 
the  battlefield  with  sword  and  lance  that  was  meant; 
rather  it  was  the  inner  fight,  the  hidden  meaning,  that 
a  noble  soul  who  had  fought  the  battle  of  life  well,  at 
the  last  when  he  had  attained  to  that  which  was  pos- 
sible in  those  days,  sang  his  swan  song:  that  is  he 
took  his  oath  of  Initiation  and  became  capable  of  en- 
tering another  realm  to  help  others  there  as  he  had 
helped  them  here ;  for  it  was  ever  the  sacred  duty  of  a 
noble  knight  to  succor  those  who  were  weak  and  heavy 
laden. 

Elsa  is  the  daughter  of  a  king.  She  is  thus  of  the 
highest  and  most  noble  birth.  No  one  who  is  not  thus 
well  born  can  lay  claim  to  the  services  of  such  a  knight 
as  Lohengrin  in  that  manner ;  that  is  to  say  of  course, 
there  is  in  humanity  neither  high  nor  low,  save  as  we 
stand  in  the  scale  of  evolution.  "When  a  soul  has  been 
long  upon  the  stage  of  life,  has  gone  to  school  for 
many,  many  lives,  then  gradually  it  acquires  that  no- 
bility which  comes  from  learning  the  lessons  and  work- 
ing along  the  lines  laid  down  by  the  schoolmasters, 
our  Elder  Brothers,  who  are  now  teaching  us  the  les- 
sons of  life.  The  nobility  earned  by  eagerness  to  do 
deeds  of  mercy  for  our  less  highly  advanced  fellow 
beings,  is  the  key  to  their  favor,  and  therefore  when 
Elsa  was  in  distress,  a  noble  soul  is  sent  to  teach  and 
guide  her. 


THE  KNIGHT  OF  THE  SWAN  163 

In  the  Book  of  Revelation  we  read  about  the  mystic 
marriage  of  the  Bride  and  the  Lamb.  There  is  that 
marriage  in  every  soul's  experience,  and  always  un- 
der similar  circumstances.  One  of  the  first  requisiti3S. 
is  that  the  soul  must  have  been  forsaken  by  every  one 
else :  it  must  stand  alone  without  a  single  friend  m 
the  world.  When  that  point  has  been  attained,  when 
the  soul  sees  no  succor  from  any  earthly  source,  when  it 
turns  with  its  whole  heart  to  heaven  and  prays  for 
deliverance,  then  comes  the  deliverer  and  also  the 
offer  of  marriage.  In  other  words,  the  true  teacher 
always  comes  in  response  to  the  earnest  prayers  of 
the  aspirant,  but  not  till  he  has  forsaken  the  «v\rld 
and  been  forsaken  by  it.  He  offers  to  take  care  of 
one  who  is  thus  anxious  for  guidance,  and  forthwith 
conquers  untruth  with  the  sword  of  truth,  but  having 
given  this  proof,  henceforth  he  requires  an  absolute 
unquestioning  faith.  Please  remember — let  it  imprint 
itself  upon  your  mind,  let  it  sear  itself  into  your  very 
being  with  letters  of  fire,  that  having  come  in  answer 
to  the  prayer,  (which  is  not  only  words  but  a  life  of 
aspiration)  the  indubitable,  unquestionable  proof  is 
given  of  the  power  and  ability  of  the  teacher  to  teach, 
to  guide,  and  to  help;  and  then  the  requirement  is 
made  that  henceforth  there  must  be  absolute  faith  in 
him,  otherwise  it  becomes  impossible  for  him  to  work 
with  the  aspirant. 

That  is  the  great  lesson  that  is  taught  by  Lohengrin, 
and  it  is  of  supreme  importance,  for  there  are  thous- 
ands upon  thousands  walking  the  streets  in  many 


164  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

cities  today,  looking  hither  and  thither,  seeking  a 
teacher.  Some  pretend  to  have  found  him,  or  have 
deceived  themselves  into  that  belief;  but  the  re- 
quirement that  is  enunciated  in  Lohengrin  is  an 
actual  requirement.  The  teacher  must,  will,  and 
does  prove  his  ability.  He  is  known  by  his  fruits ; 
then  in  return  he  demands  loyalty,  and  unless 
this  faith,  this  loyalty,  this  readiness  to  serve,  this 
willingness  to  do  whatever  is  required,  is  forthcoming 
from  the  aspirant,  the  relationship  will  be  terminated. 
No  matter  how  hot  may  be  the  tears  of  repentance 
which  might  follow  in  the  case  of  the  aspirant  who 
had  failed  in  his  loyalty  to  the  teacher,  no  matter  how 
sincere  his  repentence;  the  next  opportunity  will 
not  be  forthcoming  in  the  present  life. 

Therefore,  it  is  of  the  very  greatest  importance  that 
those  who  are  seeking  Initiation  should  understand 
that  there  is  something  due  them  from  the  professed 
teacher,  before  they  accept  him.  He  must  show  the 
fruits  of  his  work,  for  as  Christ  said,  '  *  By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them."  This  the  genuine  teacher  al- 
ways does  without  being  asked,  and  without  seeming 
to  do  so  or  to  want  to  give  a  sign.  He  always  fur- 
nishes some  evidence  to  which  the  mind  of  the  aspirant 
can  cling  as  an  indubitable  proof  of  his  superior  knowl- 
edge and  ability.  When  that  has  then  been  demon- 
strated, it  is  absolutely  essential  that  loyalty  to  the 
teacher  must  follow,  and  no  matter  who  says  this, 
that,  or  the  other  thing,  the  aspirant  should  not  be 
disturbed,  but  cling  steadfastly  to  the  proven  fact, 
stick  to  that  which  he  believes  to  be  true  and  faithfully 


THE  KNIGHT  OF  THE  SWAN  165 

uphold  the  one  to  whom  he  looks  for  teaching;  for 
unless  that  faith  is  there,  there  is  no  use  in  continu- 
ing the  relationship. 

It  is  very  significant,  however,  that  Elsa's  brother 
was,  as  we  learn  from  the  final  scene,  the  swan  which 
had  carried  Lohengrin  to  his  sister,  and  who  was 
changed  back  to  his  natural  shape  when  Lohengrin 
departed.  He  had  been  through  Initiation.  He,  no 
doubt,  knew  of  his  sister's  plight,  as  one  soul  who  is 
advanced  and  studying  along  these  lines  knows  of  an- 
other's struggles,  but  although  he  saw  the  predica- 
ment of  this  fair  aspirant,  or  sister  soul,  he  had  no 
fear,  for  was  he  not  the  means  of  bringing  to  her  the 
succor  that  she  might  have  had  permanently  had  she 
been  as  faithful  as  he? 

The  End. 


Index 

Page 

Aaron,  rod  of,  power  of  religion 81 

vehicle  of  power   153 

Alberich  symbolizes  pioneers  of  mankind 76 

Alternation  of  sexes  in  Aryan  Epoch 152 

America,  electric  atmosphere 130 

spirit  of  mysticism  lacking  in • 158 

Angels  led  by  Jehovah 36 

negative  influence  of   • 27 

Apes,  degeneration  of   36 

under  care  of  Lucifer  Spirits   • 36 

Apocalypse  and  Twilight  of  the  gods   120 

Apples,  golden,  life-giving  food  of  gods 79 

Archetypes,  copies  of,  perishable 46 

Ark,  lungs  symbolized  by   124 

Aryana,  atmospheric  conditions  of    • 132 

world  of  today 77 

Aspirant,  desertion  of   163 

transmutes  passion  in  blood 32 

Atlantean  Epoch,  savagery  of  119 

Atlanteans,  childlike  nature  of 75 

lacked  individualized  ego    • 75 

inner  perception  of 75 

symbolized  by  Rhine  maidens • . .  74 

Atlantis  childlike  people  of 75 

dense  foggy  atmosphere  of   74 

Atmosphere,  clearing  of,  aids  perception  of  selfhood  . .  77 

Attainment  by  arduous  struggle  . . .  • 22 

Bifrost,   rainbow  bridge    79 

Bird,  symbolizes  quickening  spirit   59 

Black  magic,  symbols  of   • 27 

Black  magician,  enters  and  leaves  body  by  feet 25 

vampires  on  sex  force  of  others 32 

Blood  built  by  spirit 31 

cleansed,  regenerative  power  of   32 

extract   of  vital   body    • 31 

individual   structure  of    31 

iron  in,  due  to  Mars 31 

seat  of  soul 30 

167 


168  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Pai 


Brunhilde,  favorite  daughter  of  Wotan 85 

sleep  of • 93 

spirit  of  truth • 85 

Cain,  Sons  of,  descendants  of  Lucifer  Spirits 35 

drawn  into  statecraft 43 

Cancer,  disease  of,  result  of  past  immorality   146 

Causation,  cancellation  of  duties  of 89 

Chivalry  in  Aryan  Epoch  119 

Christ,  aid  of,  to  fallen  • 41 

evolution  of  principles  of,  work  of  western  world  .  71 

every  Son  of  Seth  to  leave  all  for 42 

Christ,  see  also  Earth  Spirit. 

Christ'  Jesus,  our  High  Priest   •  147 

temptation  of 147 

Church's  creeds,  do  not  satisfy 97 

deprive  man  of  individuality 95 

Civilization,  follows  sun's  path  73 

Cleansing  Blood  of  Grail 150 

Color,  function  of   50 

Compassion,  known  through  experience   34 

Compensation  given  for  bodily  action   37 

Courage  necessary  in  development  of  soul 138 

Creed,  causes  decay  of  religion 81 

purpose  of 83 

Crystallization  caused  by  passion  36 

Curiosity,  danger  of  114 

Dead,  lamentations  for,  cause  grief  to Ill 

Desire  body,  emotions  of  easily  dissipated  72 

less  retentive  than  vital  body 72 

Desire  world,  complementary  colors  active  in 151 

illusions  of 101 

realm  of  color 52 

Disciple  seeks  to  undo  evil  of  past  lives 150 

Discord,  contrasting  value  of   132 

Dogma,  usefulness  of  83 

Double  standard,  fallacy  of  147 

Dweller  on  threshold   154 

Earth,  activity  below  outer  stratum   19 

coming  change  of 124 

nine  strata  of • 19 

rst  connection  of  with  planets 30 

lives,  test  of  knowledge  in 116 

Earth  Spirit  controls  earth  from  within 25 

liberation  of  • 20 


INDEX  169 

Page 

Earth  Spirit,  living  reality  of  revealed  in  Initiaton  . .  19 

power  in  name  of 18 

Earth  Spirit,  see  also  Christ 

East,  etheric  atmosphere  of 73 

Eden,  garden  of 74 

Effort,  advancement  gained  through • 82 

Ego,  bisexual  state  of  141 

directs  action  by  thought  52 

enveloped  in  ring  of  vehicles  . . .  • 80 

symbolized  by  Ring 98 

Emotion,  intense,  necessity  for 38 

Eternal  Feminine,  creative  force  in  universe 46 

Europe,  mystic  atmosphere  of    • 130 

Evolution  unceasing  effort   in    82 

Exilir,  antithesis  of  Philosopher's  Stone  151 

color  of  soothing  effect 151 

Grail  made  from   • 150 

Experience,  post-mortem,  record  of '. .  113 

Faf ner,  giant  builder  of  limitation 80 

spirit  of  desire • 98 

Faith,  in  Christ,  redemptive  power  of 42 

in  teacher,  necessity  for •  164 

Fasolt,  giant  builder  of  limitation 80 

Fates,  three,  see  Norms 

Father,  the  macrocosm • 28 

Father,  religion  of  20 

Faust,  evolved  humanity 11 

Son  of  Cain  . . .  • 42 

symbolical  of  the  seeking  soul  24 

Fenris,  the  atmosphere   38, 121 

Fire,  of  Aryan  Age   • 120 

Forgiveness  of  sin 150 

Form,  function  of  • 50 

Freya,  Norse  counterpart  of  Venus 79 

Friday  dedicated  to  Venus 79 

Frost  giants  existence  of  before  earth   90 

nature    forces   • 90 

Gamuret,  the  man  of  the  world 60 

Generation  contributes  to  immortality   153 

relation  of,  to  solar  ray • 152 

used  for  regeneration    153 

Giants  builders  of  limitation • 80 

Gimle,  new  earth 122 

God,  life  of,  invests  every  atom  of  matter 15 

perpetual  development  of 10 


170  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Page 

Gods,  constant  evolution   77 

limit  themselves  by  ring  • 77 

remain  until  end  of  epoch 80 

warders   of  religions    80 

Goethe,  enlightened  Initiate 6 

Grail,  castle  of  '  32 

Cleansing  Blood  contained  in    150 

found  only  by  conquest  of  passion 152 

quest  for,  causes  spiritual  strife   22 

Grane  steed  of  discernment • 106 

Group  spirit,  influences  animals  by  mental  pictures  ....  72 

work  through  animals'  desire  bodies  72 

Gutrune,  honors  of  the  world 119 

Heaven,  ideals  attained  . . .  • 46 

Hel,  ruler  of  the  indolent 88 

symbolical  of  death 121 

Herod,  Castle  of  and  Castle  of  Grail 32 

Herzleide,  sorrow 60 

Hierarchies,  creative,  constant  evolution  of 90 

Higher  knowledge  follows  mastery  of  lower 16 

Higher  law  supersedes  lower 150 

Higher  nature,  struggle  with  lower    22 

Hoard  of  Niebelung,  material  acquisitions  of 118 

Hunding,  spirit  of  convention   91 

Hypnotic  power,  helmet  of  illusion 117 

Ideals,  etched  into  higher  vehicles   6 

Imagination  aroused  by  Lucifer 153 

female  quality  of  spirit   153 

Immaculate  conception   • 154 

Inactivity,  power  of,  to  shorten  life  • 29 

Incubi,  evil  obsessing  entities 130 

Initiate,  master  of  different  elements 16i 

Initiation,  opened  up  by  Christ 61 

reveals  Earth  Spirit  19 

unveils  mystery  of  earth's  constitution 20 

words  of  power  given  in 18 

Inner  life,  completeness  of • 51 

emotional  and  mental  52 

Jealousy  engendered  by  Exilir 151 

Jehovah,  author  of  generation   146 

guided  mankind  from  without 25 

highest  Initiate  of  Moon  Period • 145 

ruler  of  angels 36 


INDEX  171 

Page 

Jesus,  vital  body  of,  Christ's  vehicle  at  future  coming  .  20 

Christ  entered  earth  by  means  of 25 

preserved  at  centre  of  earth 20 

Job,  vanguard  of  race   11 

Jupiter,  Thor,  Norse  counterpart  of 79 

Keynote,  each  star  has  own   • 8 

Killing,  by  proxy    59 

Knight,  he  who  travels  path  of  attainment 138 

Knighthood,  duties  of  • 138 

Knowledge,  growth  of,  related  to  vital  body 31 

interior  state  of 31 

responsibility,  increases  with • . . . .  115 

Knowledge,    higher,    only   follows    mastery    of  worldly 

information   16 

Knowledge,  tree  of   145 

Kundry,  the  body 67 

the  Dweller  of  Parsifal    154 

the  lower  nature   66 

Liberation,  freedom  from  rebirth 67 

Life  spirit,  the  Christ  principle  in  man 71 

extracts  as  pabulum  intellectual  soul •  71 

Life,  tree  of,  see  Yggdrasil. 

Light  waves,  transmuted  to  sound 8 

Loge,  guardian  of  flame 88 

related  to  Saturn • „ 79 

spirit  of  deceit  79 

Love,  elevation  of  standards  of  129 

Lower  nature,  affected  by  myths • 7 

plotting  of 97 

Lucifer  arouses  imagination • 153 

beneficent  influence  of 9 

green  gem  of • 152 

imbued  man  with  ambition 76 

Mars  spirit    • t 79 

spirit   of   negation    79 

Lucifer  spirits  evolve  by  intensity  of  feeling  induced  in 

man   • 33 

fallen  angels 36 

from    Mars    • 31 

have  freed  man  from  angelic  domination 35 

incite  war  and  bloodshed 39 

progenitors  of  Sons  of  Cain 35 

selfish  influence  of  27 

stir  passions  of  lower  nature 33 


172  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Page 
Lucifer    Spirits,     ultimately     produce     good    through 

suffering    39 

Luck,  result  of  merit   37 

Lunar  ray,  vehicle  of  gestation  145 

Lungs  symbolized  by  Ark 124 

Man  in  past,  hermaphrodite 152 

lead  by  angels   27 

lead  by  Lucifer  Spirits   27 

past  consciousness  of 152 

Marguerite,  the  sinning  soul 41 

ward  of  Sons  of  Seth  . 35 

Matter,  God's  life  invests  . . . . 15 

Mediums,  control  of,  by  evil  entities 13C 

Mercury,  Norse  counterpart  of  Wotan 78 

Michael,' Archangel,  Lucifer  struggles  with  150 

Midgaard  Serpent,  the  ocean 38 

Mime,  the  lower  nature 97 

symbolizes  dense  body 

well  of,  bestows  knowledge  of  the  past 90 

Minstrels,  educators  of  Middle  Ages    128 

influence  of,  on  public  opinion 128 

were  Initiates   139 

Mistakes,  educational  value  of 13 

Mountain  of  Venus  13C 

Music,  language  of  thought  world    52 

Myths,  effects  of,  on  man's  evolution  73 

given  by  great  teachers 

ideals  ingrained  by  

seven  interpretations  of 59 

veiled  spiritual  truths   72 

Nature,  feminine  creative  force 46 

Nature  forces,    see  Frost  Giants. 

New  race   to  be  offshoot  of  American 124 

Nidhog,  spirit  of  envy 88 

Nisbelung,  children  of  Wotan   85 

Noah  kindled  first  fire   120 

Norms  controlled  by  law 89 

the  Three   Fates    89 

Nothung,  courage  of  despair   87 

Ocean  to  pass  away 122 

Odin,  see  Wotan 

Orlog,   destiny    89 

Panorama  of  Life,   see  Life  panorama. 

Paracelsus,  on  obsessing  entities   130 

Parsifal,  spear  of 81 


INDEX  173 

Page 

Parsifal,  symbolizes  spirit 67 

Passion,  aroused  by  Lucifer  Spirits   35 

awakened  man's  individuality 35 

causes  sickness  35 

crystallizing  power  of 36 

Past  lives  forgetfulness  of 112 

pride  of 114 

Pentagram,  symbolism  of   24 

Philosopher's  Stone,  chaste  love  symbolized  by 151 

symbol  of  redemption 153 

Physical  world,  realm  of  form 52 

Pioneers  need  of   83 

Pituitary  body,  development  of  soul  power  in 24 

Planets,  movements  of 74 

earth's  close  connection  with   30 

Power,  occult  to  be  used  unselfishly 97 

Priestcraft,  Sons  of  Seth   43 

Progress,  necessity  for  slow 16 

penalty  in  laws  of   134 

Rainbow,  first  seen  in  Aryana  79 

remains  till  end  of  era 80 

significance  of   120 

Rainbow  bridge,  Bifrost 79 

reflection  of  heavenly  fire   120 

Rebirth,  alternation  of  sex  during  129 

taught  in  Scandinavian  mythology 109 

Recording  Angels,  infallibility  of 82 

Reincarnation,  see  Rebirth. 

Heligion,  decay  of  due  to  creed 81 

destroyed  by  political  affiliations 81 

forswore  love    84 

frees  from  illusion 78 

perfect,  impossible  to  present  humanity 80 

relation  of,  to  love   .- 84 

shows  way  to  truth  and  life  78 

symbols  of 52 

Religions,  all  imbued  wTith  spirit  of  love 91 

various,  form  steps  in  man's  evolution 80 

Renunciation  of  the  world,  inevitable   60 

Repetition,  keynote  of  vital  body 71 

Rhinegold,  ring  of,  dogma  and  creed 82 

Universal  Spirit 76 

Right,  criterion  of,  determined  by  evolution   118 

.Righteousness,  future  universality  of 43 


174  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Page 

Ring,  symbol  of  limitation  77 

symbol  of  sp;rit's  immortality 78 

symbolizes  ego 78 

Rose  Cross,  Brothers  of.  foster  self-reliance 23 

Sacrifice,  law  of,  greater  than  law  of  self-preservation  98 

Salvation,  intended  for  all 83 

Second  sight,  past  prevalence  of Ill 

Seed  pod  of  plant  and  Holy  Grail 152 

Selfhood  protecting  power  of 37 

Self-reliance,  necessary  for  aspirant 23 

Seth,  Sons  of,  negative  character 40 

the  priestcraft 35 

Sex,  pertains  to  dense  vehicle  only 152 

Sex  force,  extract  of  vital  body 31 

transmuted  in  pituitary  body 24 

Sexes,  alternation  of  141 

equality  of  - 129 

Sickness,  attendant  upon  soul  growth 138 

Siegfried  represents  higher  self 96 

seeker  of  truth 86 

Sieglinda  enslaved  by  public  opinion  87 

Sin,  unpardonable  146 

Skuld,  one  of  the  Fates  89 

Snake,  symbolical  of  rebirth 55 

Solomon,  an  incarnation  of  Jesus 42 

Son  of  Seth  42 

Sorrow,  educational  effects  of 148 

Soul,  freedom  in  choice  of  12 

Soul  body,  development  of 161 

Soul  growth,  slow  inner  process  of 32 

through  good  deeds 23 

Sound,  power  of  18 

Spear,  power  of  religion  81 

spiritual  power  used  unselfishly 66 

Spheres,  song  of 9 

Spirit,  bi-sexual  state  of 152 

entrance  or  exit  from  same  door 21 

integral  part  of  God 13 

primarily  innocent 13 

ring  of,  causes  limitation  77 

Spirits  of  elements  130 

Spirit  world  lies  about  us 15 

Spiritual  realms,  earthly  elements  nonexistent  in 121 


INDEX  175 

Page 

Stars,  circle  dance  of 9 

discord  of,  develops  individuality   9 

Stellar  influences  on  propagation 146 

Succubi,  evil  possessing  entities 130 

Suffering,  God  gives  aid  to   41 

purifying  power  of  39 

Swan,  emblem  of  Grail  Knights   160 

symbol  of  Initiate « 161 

Swan  Song,  vow  of  Initiation 162 

Tannhauser.  man's  spirit  at  one  stage  of  evolution  . . .  129 

Tarcap,  helmet  of  illusion 117 

Teacher  comes  in  answer  to  prayer 163 

fidelity  to 167 

known  by  his  fruits   167 

enabled  only  to  point  the  way 23 

Teachers,  spiritual  uplift  mankind 53 

Temple  builder,  man  is 29 

Temptation,  persistence  of  41 

sin  in  yielding  to 147 

strengthening  of  moral  muscle  in 12 

Th'vr,  Norse  counterpart  of  Jupiter 79 

Thought,  attractive  power  of 130 

realm  of  tone  52 

Thought,  world  of.  home  of  ego   52 

Tone,  beauty  of  induces  spiritual  good 157 

function  of    50 

Tree  of  knowledge   145 

Tree  of  life,  see  Yggdrasil. 

Truth,  achieved  by  conquest  over  limitation 92 

the  bride  of  its  discoverer   106 

contends  upon  side  of  truth  seeker 91 

exists  in  Region  of  Concrete  Thought 101 

knows  no  boundaries 80 

means  to  an  end 101 

must  be  brought  down  to  physical  realm 101 

must  be  divorced  from  earthly  ambition 98 

world's  antagonism  to   102 

Universal  spirit,  the  Rhinegold  74 

Unpardonable   sin    145 

Unselfishness,  necessity  for   65 

Urd,  fountain  of,  renews  life  89 

spins  our  past  destiny 89 

Valhal,  limitations  of 82 

the  ring  of  creed 91 


176  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  GREAT  OPERAS 

Page 

Valkuerie,  symbolical  of  virtue 85 

Valplads,  battle  field  of  truth 85 

Venus,  Freya,  Norse  counterpart  of 79 

Venus,  mountains  of    130 

Venus  of  Tannhauser,  etheric  entity 130 

Verdande,  breaks  thread  of  our  future 89 

Virtue,  developed  by  suffering 13 

distinguished  from  innocence 63 

Vital  body,  capable  of  levitation 25 

extracts  of 31 

repetition,  keynote  of 71 

retentiveness  of   72 

seen  at  death 11 

vehicle  of  Christ  at  Second  Coming 25 

Walsungs,  children  of  Wotan 85 

pioneers  demanding  free  will 84 

War  incited  by  Lucifer  Spirits 39 

Water,  deities  of 79 

Water  of  life,  spiritual  impetus 90 

Wedding  garment,  construction  of 124 

etheric  vehicle  necessary  for  new  race 124 

Wednesday  dedicated  to  Mercury 78 

West,  etheric  atmosphere  of,  conduces  to  spiritual  per- 
ception      73 

White   Stone,  the  Philosopher's   Stone    151 

Will,  male  quality  of  spirit 151 

Witches'  kitchen,  each  must  enter 37 

Wolfram,  exponent  of  spiritual  love 137 

humanity  becomes   139 

Woman,  equality  of    128 

place  of 129 

Word  of  power 18 

World  Temple,  two  classes  of  humanity  build 46 

Wordly  possessions,  desire  for 98 

Wotan,  chief  of  Hierarchies 90 

claims  only  the  brave  who  die  for  truth 82 

God  of  the  age  of  air 122 

God  of  wisdom 90 

spear  of  the  power  of  creed 91 

Teutonic  counterpart  of  Mercury 78 

warder  of  creeds  99 

Yggdrasil,  lives  by  love 88 

tree  of  life  and  being 88 


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The  Visible  and  Invisible  Worlds,  The  Four  Kingdoms,  Man 
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Thought,  Memory  and  Soul-crowth.  The  conscious,  subcon- 
scious and  superconscious  mind.  The  science  of  death,  the 
beneficence  of  purgatory,  life  in  heaven.  Re-birth  and  the 
Law  of  Consequence. 

Part  II. 

The  Scheme  of  Evolution.  The  Path  of  Evolution.  The 
Work  of  Evolution.  Genesis  and  Evolution  of  Our  Solar 
System.  Chaos  the  seed-ground  of  Cosmos,  Birth  of  the 
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of  Genesis.  The  Nebular  Theory. 
Part  III. 

Christ  and  His  Mission.  The  Star  of  Bethlehem,  the  Mys- 
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opment and  Initiation.  Alchemy  and  Soul-growth.  The 
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cian Initiation. 

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PARTIAL  LIST  OF  SUBJECTS 

Section  I. — Life  on  Earth.  Social  Conditions,  Marriage, 
Children,  Sleep  and  Dreams,  Health  and  Disease 

Section  II. — Life  After  Death.  Cremation.  Purgatory, 
The  First  Heaven,  The  Second  Heaven,  The  Third 
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Section  IV. — The  Bible  Teachings.  The  Creation,  The  Fall, 
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Section  V. — Spiritualistic  Phenomena.  Mediumship,  Ob- 
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Section  VI. — Clairvoyance.  Dangers  of  Psychism,  True- 
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Section  VIII., Animals.     Their  Life  Here  and  Hereafter. 

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